


you're my favorite person

by MarthaDanielle



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bully Dan, Bullying, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, High School AU Phanfiction #249, Light Smut, Love/Hate, M/M, OC Susan, Phan - Freeform, Pining, Unrequited Love, bully!dan - Freeform, changed the title because it was making me cringe, confused phil, pining dan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 15:01:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7319962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarthaDanielle/pseuds/MarthaDanielle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan had always been one the dickheads at school who bullied other people but Dan always seemed to favor picking on Phil. It wasn’t anything Phil couldn’t handle after he had dealt with it long enough to learn how to ignore it. That is until Dan’s teasing turned almost flirtatious. That was something Phil was not prepared to deal with.</p>
<p>Featuring bants, sleepovers, gym class and two dorks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Phil could recall that Dan had been his personal bully since about middle school. Dan had always been one of the group of dickheads at school who bullied other people but Dan always seemed to favor him. It wasn’t anything Phil couldn’t handle after he had dealt with it long enough to learn how to ignore it. That was until recently now that both boys were in high school and Dan’s teasing turned almost flirtatious. This was something Phil was not prepared to deal with. You see, Phil had always been told if you don’t react to the teasing the bullies will get bored and leave you alone. And that was exactly what he’d been doing for quite a while now and it was working. He had stopped responding to Dan’s words a long time ago and ignored the boy completely. Then the flirting suddenly began and that’s when things got strange. The flirtatious comments got more of a rise out of Phil than the insults did which gave Dan back the attention he seemed to crave from Phil. He knew Dan didn’t actually mean the comments but they were just meant to get a rise out of him. It was actually really confusing. The ebony haired boy always physically reacted by blushing but emotionally he didn’t know how he felt about it which was the worst thing. He’d take the insults any day over the flirting.

On a Tuesday morning, the brown haired boy was already in his seat before class started. He took notice when the black haired blue eyed boy came in to the room and silently took his seat in front of him without a glance in his direction, not in fear or respect. For some reason Dan suddenly felt the need for his attention. He couldn’t handle Phil not even acknowledging his presence. How dare that dork not bestow him with a second of attention? He needed those blue eyes on him even if they were in terror.

"Yo dweeb!” he called harshly from right behind him. Dan knew Phil must have heard him and when he still didn’t get the attention he wanted he shamelessly spoke in ways he knew would get a rise out of him. He leaned forward to get close to Phil’s ear. “What? Doesn’t that pretty little mouth of yours work to speak?” He whispered.

Phil visibly turned a shade of pink.

“Aww you’re blushing again for me? How cute.” The teacher walked in just then, the class got started and Dan didn’t say anything again. Instead, he threw pieces of an eraser at Phil’s head when the teacher wasn’t looking their way.

When Dan got bored during the lesson he was easily distracted by the boy sitting in front of him. Phil didn’t retaliate and pretended not to notice. When that still didn’t get a rise out of the boy, Dan scooted downwards in his seat to better stretch his long legs to hook them around the back legs of Phil’s chair and then he pulled the seat backwards all the way till Phil’s back collided with the front of Dan’s desk. Phil almost immediately scooted back to his own desk which only resulted in Dan pulling Phil closer to him once again. Phil scooted away from him again and the chair pulling happened another three times. That drew a few eyes in the back row towards the both of them. From his now closer proximity to the boy, Dan could see the back of Phil’s neck turning pink. It was getting ridiculous and Phil finally turned around quickly to look at the other boy. He caught a glimpse of the brown haired boy’s concentrated stare aimed at the back of his head before Dan met his eyes and smirked at him quietly.

“Quit your shit,” Phil muttered to him before turning away.

“Ohhh I didn’t know you had such a dirty mouth, Phil. I think I like it.” Dan whispered from behind him.

Phil tried not to think about the comment and just tried to ignore Dan altogether. Although he knew ignoring him wasn’t going to stop Dan from pulling his chair back so he grabbed on hard to the bottom of his desk in anticipation. When Dan tried the stunt again, Phil’s seat only budged a little bit this time. For a second Phil thought he had put an end to his antics until Dan tried again but this time pulling so hard that Phil ended up dragging his own desk along with him.

The scraping of the desk was loud enough to cause the teacher to turn around from the whiteboard. She quickly noticed whose desk was askew and scolded them both then turned back to the lesson on the board. Phil pushed his desk into place before trying to scoot upwards to it but his chair wouldn’t budge. He realized Dan’s hand was holding onto the back of his chair keeping it against his desk with his legs still wrapped around the bottom. Phil felt flustered and unsure of what to do so he started kicking at Dan’s legs on his chair.

“Knock it off,” Phil told him while looking down at his aimed kicks. He finally looked up at him when he attempted to pry Dan’s hand off his chair. Dan only stared at him amused while biting his lip still persistent against Phil’s struggle. He let Phil grab his hand as he pried it off and laughed quietly at the boy’s attempt.

“Trying to hold my hand, Phil?” At that comment Phil tried to pull his hand away and Dan grabbed on to it for a second to laugh at how Phil tried to pull out of his grip before he let him go. Phil huffed and stopped struggling altogether feeling defeated. He just sat there wondering if he should just stop trying to scoot away and sit in that position for the whole lesson. Phil suddenly remembered his ‘ignore the bully till they lose interest’ philosophy and decided to stick to it. Then what would Dan do? Just try to find another way to annoy him probably.

He grabbed his notebook and pen from the desk and propped up his leg on top of the other to balance his notebook on and started taking notes on the lesson as usual. A few minutes passed without Dan bothering him. Suddenly he felt a sensation on his neck and Phil automatically flinched. Dan had stroked his neck with a pen. How annoying was that? So Phil leaned his head to one side so Dan wouldn’t try that again. This time Phil felt something in his hair and realized Dan was swooping a pen through it. He tried not to react this time and kept writing notes down in his journal hoping the other boy would get bored soon. Then he felt the tip of the pen on his neck trying to make a mark and he flinched again. Before Phil could start pulling away he felt a gentle hand apply pressure on the other side of his neck trying to hold him in place.

“Hold on, I’m giving you a cool tattoo.” Dan said close to his ear as Phil felt the pen moving quickly on his neck.

“Dan-” he spoke but his voice came out a bit strange. He could feel the rumble of his voice against Dan’s hand and he felt his hand apply more pressure at that as he heard the boy swear under his breath. Phil moved out of his grasp and tried to rub away the mark on his neck.  
In a moment of vengeance, Phil forgot the ignoring game and grabbed the pen out of Dan’s hand and threw it on the floor to one side of them. It felt good but now he wondered what kind of response that action would bring upon him.

“Ya smeared it.” Dan simply said. Phil couldn’t care less. He hadn’t felt so agitated like this in so long and he wanted out of that classroom so badly. He continued writing notes till he felt his pen being yanked out of his hand. Phil looked up from his notes and sighed. Well that was the end of the ignoring game now that he couldn’t focus on just taking notes or even avoid reacting to Dan.

In an escape attempt while he thought Dan’s guard was down, Phil tried to quickly scoot up again but he didn’t get far. Dan grabbed the back of his chair so fast and dragged him back. Phil just sat there with his arms crossed and when Dan resumed sticking the pen in his hair and running it along his neck, Phil just sat there and ignored it the best he could till the end of class. When the bell finally did ring he stood up out of his seat quickly packing his things and took off without looking back at the other boy.

Phil ran straight to the boys’ restrooms to check what Dan had drawn on his neck. He suspected something crude like a dick and balls like most teen boys went around drawing on things. He angled his neck to the mirror to see Dan’s name smeared but readable on his neck with two little eyes in front of the D to look like a smiley face. Phil adjusted his collar to hide the mark. He didn’t have time to wash it off because he had to get to his next class on the other side of the campus but he’d come back to do it later.

Phil shared his next class with his friend Chris. He didn’t know if to tell him or not about Dan’s strange teasing that had him feeling confused. He decided not to as Chris had him laughing all through the class which made him forget all about the stupid mark on his neck.

In the class after that he got out early and was one of the first people in the lunch room so he managed to grab a sandwich and a table in the back corner for his friends. He had finished his sandwich quickly and waited for Chris and PJ to arrive while he played games on his phone. He started to remember that horrid class with Dan and suddenly feared he’d come after him during lunch too. At that paranoid thought, he looked up from his phone at just the right moment to see Dan strolling into the cafeteria. Instead of immediately getting into the lunch line like everybody else, he stopped and stood in the open space in front of the doorway as he scanned the lunch room. Phil felt dread in his stomach because for some reason he was sure it was him Dan was looking for. The cafeteria was filling up now but Dan would easily spot him any second now which made him panic but he didn’t know how to keep himself from being seen. Just as he was thinking this, Dan spotted him and their eyes met. Dan started walking in his direction instantly. It kind of looked like he was smiling. Phil felt horrified.

His view was interrupted by his friends putting their trays down in front of him. “Hey, you got a table!” PJ exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Phil said inattentively as he leaned over in his chair to look around them but he had lost sight of Dan. He scanned the room but could no longer find him.

“What’s wrong?” PJ asked.

“I thought Dan Howell was walking this way but I don’t see him anymore.”

Their faces fell.

“Aw not that fucker again.” Chris whined.

“Yeah he gave me a hard time this morning in class but it was really strange.”

“Strange how?” PJ asked while he opened his milk carton.

So Phil hesitatingly told them and let is spill about all the almost flirtatious teasing that had been going on for a while now. Afterwards, his friends stayed quiet and stared down at their food.

“Well, shit.” Chris finally said.

“That,” PJ started “um, sounds really…”

“GAY!” Chris finished.

“I mean he could just be messing with you but it sounds like he’s hitting on you.” PJ said as they resumed eating their lunch.

“That’s pretty fucked up,” Chris said as he spooned lasagna into his mouth.

“That is pretty fucked up,” PJ agreed. “Considering how he’s treated you and us in the past. It’s just weird.”

“Hell yeah that’s weird,” Chris agreed.

Although this was a very awkward conversation for Phil because he hated to share what was bothering him, hearing his friends put his confusion into words and validate it made him feel better.

“Have we ever seen him date a girl or boy?” Chris asked. They all shook their heads. “Because if we knew his sexuality we could make some sense out of this. If he’s straight then he’s probably just joking and if he’s gay then there is a chance he’s interested in you now.”

“Maybe he’s bi?” PJ suggested.

“Possibly.” Chris said.

“But why me all of a sudden?” Phil said exasperated.

“That’s another good question.” Chris said pointing at him with his spoon. “No offense, Phil. I’m not saying someone couldn’t have a crush on you. I just thought he hated your guts all this time but now he’s hitting on you? How fucking weird.”

“And it’s not like you can just ask him or anything can you? If you accused him of acting a bit gay, he and his friends would probably kick your ass.” PJ said.

“Yeah that thought crossed my mind.” Phil said.

“Damn.” Chris said out loud shaking his head at the situation.

The all fell silent for a moment.

“So,” PJ said changing the conversation. “Have you seen Susan around?” He asked in a more cheery, hopeful tone.

Phil frowned. “Nope. I haven’t seen her.”

“He’s got Danny boy now! I bet he’s forgotten all about Susan!” Chris joked. Phil flipped him off.

“Does she still talk to you in class?” PJ asked.

“Yup.” Phil said smiling a bit.

“Maybe she likes you.” PJ smiled. “Do you like her?” He pried.

Phil shrugged. “I think she’s pretty and really nice.”

“It’s because you think she looks a bit like Sarah Michelle Geller don’t you?” Chris winked at him.

Phil laughed. “If I found a girl who looked like Sarah Michelle Geller I’d ask her to marry me in a heartbeat!” He joked.

“Yeah, right.” Chris said. “You can’t even talk to Susan!” PJ laughed at that.

“Oi!” Phil said. “I talk to her sometimes when I get the chance to! I just don’t see her all that often.”

They all talked, joked and laughed as his friends finished up their lunch. He had scanned the room a few times without a sign of Dan but he felt like he was being watched throughout lunch which he just blamed on his paranoia. The lunch period ended and they all headed to their different classes.


	2. Chapter 2

The day is going so smoothly after lunch that Phil forgets who he shares his next classes with. Phil is spaced out in la la land as he walks to class. He is taken by surprise when Dan pulls down his shirt collar as soon as he walks through the door. Phil almost falls over from being startled out of his thoughts but manages to catch his balance because Dan is still holding onto his shirt.

“What are you doing?!” Phil squeals as he readjust his backpack slung on his shoulder.

“Checking to see if you still have my tattoo.” Dan says as he smiles seeing that the mark is still there. He then moves to casually lean on one of the front desks with his arms crossed staring at him expectantly. Phil wonders if he had just been waiting for him at the door. 

“I’ll wash it off later.” Phil says as he walks quickly away from him still feeling a bit confused. Dan doesn’t stop him. The class starts and they take their assigned seats at different sides of the room. 

After class Phil heads straight to the boys restrooms to get rid of the stupid writing on his neck. He grabs some paper towels, adds soap and starts scrubbing at it. He messily splashes water as he tries to rinse the soap away. He is disappointed when traces of pen ink are left and faintly readable. 

Phil is still looking in the mirror when he sees in the reflection the door opening behind him and it is Dan who walks in. He feels himself begin to panic. 

Dan looks at him for a second and laughs. “HA! It’s still there!”

Phil’s fear is replaced with annoyance. He can see it in his own face in the reflection. He grabs another paper towel and starts adding soap again. Dan moves closer to stand next to him.

“You have a nice neck.” He comments. 

Phil looks up at him with wide eyes only to be met with the same expression looking back at him. 

“I mean I said what the heck.”

“What?” Phil asks bewildered. 

“What?” Dan asks right back.

They both stare at each other awkwardly. 

“You wet yourself.” Dan states.

“Excuse me?” 

Dan points down at him holding back a laugh. “You have a wet spot.”

Phil looks down at his jeans. “Fuck!” He must have splashed water on himself when he was trying to wash away the mark on his neck. 

Dan grins some more. “I love when you talk like that.”

“What?” Phil says confused for what felt like the millionth time in one conversation. “Why even-?” 

“It shows you’re not so innocent like everyone thinks.” 

Phil was taken aback by that. “Everyone thinks I’m innocent?” He asks dumbly.

“Yeah, but I know you’re not.” He says almost proudly and then he leans closer as if to not let anyone hear although they were the only ones in the restroom. “Sometimes in the mornings I see you steal an extra cereal package from the cafeteria breakfast and then you snack on it during your classes.”

Phil turns red. “No I don’t! That’s not me! You must have me confused with someone-”

Dan reaches down to Phil’s backpack on the floor and pulls out a half eaten cereal package like the ones they serve in the mornings. He gives the black haired boy a pointed look.

Phil crosses his arms. “Don’t judge me.” 

Dan sticks his hand in the cereal. “No!” Phil tries but Dan is already eating some of it. Phil is irked that he just got his cereal snack taken away and is momentarily disgusted at the thought of anyone being able to eat food while standing in the restrooms. 

“Never mind. You can have it.” Phil says as he passes the boy on the way out the door. 

 

Phil gets to class and manages to grab a seat in the front. Dan walks in a minute before the bell rings and sits in the very back as usual. When class starts the teacher announces they’ll be choosing partners for a project and gives them five minutes to find one before she starts taking down their names and assigning topics. The class erupts into commotion as people seek each other out. Phil is momentarily embarrassed knowing no one will ask him to be their partner. He wishes for once someone would pick him. He tries to remember that he’s got at least two good friends who would have chosen him if one of them were here. 

The teacher silences the class after the five minutes are over and starts going down the list of names alphabetically to ask for who their partner will be. Phil stares down at his desk as he tries to brace himself to have to say out loud that he does not have a partner for the project. 

“Bennet, Jessica?” The teacher calls. 

“Liz Thomas.” A student answers. 

“Howell, Daniel?”

“Phil Lester.” 

Phil’s head snaps up in shock. He turns around to look at the back of the room. Dan meets his eyes and smiles. Phil instantly turns back around. If he’s honest with himself he’s pretty happy someone chose him for once even if it’s just Dan Howell and then Phil feels himself suddenly smiling too.

When the bell rings at the end of class and everyone is heading to the door. “Move out the way dork!” Phil hears as he feels someone bump his shoulder harshly which causes him to run into a desk. Of course it’s Dan. He turns back around to look at Phil. “Oh and for the project I’ll see after school at my house!” He says winking before turning around to leave. 

Phil waits till Dan’s gone to burst out laughing. That stupid ridiculous wink of his was unreal. Phil wonders if this some type of hysteria because in the pit of his stomach he feels nervous of having to spend more time with Dan. 

 

His last class of the day is art which is his second favorite after English. It’s also the class he shares with Susan. She comes up to him and asks if he’s okay because he seems on edge. He smiles at her and tells her he’s fine. She sits next to him during class and they have a pleasant chat. As the last bell of the day rings he tells her goodbye, waits till she can no longer see him and then runs like a madman to the school exit doors to get home as fast as he can and hopefully avoid having to go to Dan’s house. He’s almost to the doors when someone steps into his path and he crashes into them which causes him to lose his balance and fall back on his ass. He looks up to see its Dan who is smiling down at him.

“Eager to come home with me?” he says.

Phil doesn’t bother trying to get up. He rather just sit on the school floor for hours then go to his impending doom. 

“Did it even occur to you I might have plans?” Phil asks.

“What as if you have a life?” He laughs. 

Phil takes offense at that and decides to make things hard on Dan by remaining on the floor as long as he can.

“C’mon lets go,” Dan says impatiently as he reaches for Phil’s arms and pulls him up. Then he literally drags him out of the building.

As they start the walk to Dan’s house Phil pulls out his phone to message PJ and Chris. He sends them a string of messages about his day starting from the awkward conversation in the restrooms, Dan picking him as a partner, talking to Susan and how he was currently on his way to Dan’s house and so if anything happens to him to know that Dan is the suspect. They both reply back amazed but he doesn’t give them much of a chance to ask questions. He suddenly has a great idea and tells one of them to call him in half and hour with an excuse to leave. 

“Who do you keep texting?” Dan asks annoyed when Phil’s phone keeps chirping with a new message. 

“Nobody since I don’t have a life, remember?” Phil tells him still feeling ticked off that Dan must think he’s a loser. 

“Is it your mom?” Dan asks.

“No!” He says offended.

“Did you break curfew? You can tell her to call off the search party.” Dan says laughing. “And that I’ll see her later tonight-”

Phil slows down a bit to step on the back of Dan’s shoe causing the brown haired boy to lose his balance and almost trip.

“Whoops! Sorry! I’m a bit of a klutz.” Phil admits. 

Dan turns around to look at him a bit angry. “You’re a walking disaster is what you are!”

Phil smiles. “I can’t help that.” 

They arrive at Dan’s house and no one seems to be home. They head up to his bedroom and Phil doesn’t know what to expect for it to look like. Dan opens the door and lets Phil step in first. 

The room has a minimalist style. There is one feature wall painted black and the rest are white. He doesn’t have much decoration other than one painting on the wall, a few wall shelves, a couple of cool looking lamps and some stuff sitting on the window sill. The furniture is black except for his white desk and the chair which is the most interesting thing in the room because it’s shaped like a very prominent butt. Phil instantly walks over to look at it. 

“What is this thing?” He says looking over at Dan who is standing in the doorway quietly.

“It’s a butt chair.” He answers

“That’s so funny!”

“You can sit in it if you like. It’s really comfy.” 

Phil does sit in it and finds out Dan’s right it is pretty comfy. He can see what’s on the bookshelves from where he’s sitting and he comments on some of the same video games they both own and the ones Dan has bought before Phil has. Then he spots anime dvds he recognizes that takes him by surprise. 

“Hey you watch anime?” 

“Of course.” Dan says.

Phil points at them. “I’ve seen all of those.” How strange they’ve both enjoyed the same stories at one point. Who would have thought he’d have anything at all in common with Dan.

“Really?” Dan asks also sounding surprised. 

“Yeah I love anime!”

They talk about that a bit and then Phil stares at the stuff on the windowsill.

“What do you think of my room?” Dan asks. 

“It’s really cool.” Phil says. In contrast it reminds Phil of his own bedroom which has a lot of stuff and colors.

“What is that?” He points to the window.

“Ugh… that it’s pretty much a shrine of Guild Wars which I’m obsessed with. Do you play?”

“No,” Phil says “but that’s cool too.” Dan smiles.

“So…I guess we should start researching stuff for the project.” Phil begins.

Dan walks over to his shelf and pulls out one of the video games Phil says he doesn’t own yet. “Or we could play the new Mario Kart game?” He says smiling hopefully.

Phil thinks about it for a second and gives in instantly. They go downstairs to the living room and Dan starts setting up the game when Phil’s phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket to see it’s a private number calling but he answers anyway. 

“Hello?”

“This is your mother calling!” He recognizes PJ making a fake feminine voice and Phil frowns.

“What’s wrong?” Dan asks looking at him.

Phil had forgotten he’d asked them to bail him out later. 

“You need to come home right now to help around the house young man!” PJ says and he hears Chris snickering in the background. He wonders if that was really the best excuse they could come up with.

Dan is still staring at him waiting. Phil doesn’t know if to use the bail out or stay because he really wants to play Mario Kart and at this point he doesn’t mind that he’s hanging out with Dan.

“Yeah, alright. Bye!” He says into the phone and hangs up. 

“Um, it was my mom and…she was just checking up on me.” Phil says regretfully using a lame mom excuse in front of Dan.

“HA!” He laughs. “I knew you had a curfew!”

“No I don’t! It’s fine. Let’s just start the game!” Phil says. 

They play the game and find out that Dan is much better at it and he is also really competitive. The competitive banter between the two boys is the most they’ve ever talked with each other. After winning again Dan starts bragging once again. Phil checks his phone to see hours have passed, its night time and he has a lot of missed messages from his friends. He starts to say he should head home soon and Dan shuts up.

“Oh. Are you hungry? We can break to get something to eat.” He offers.

“No thanks its ok. I think I should head home.” 

“You don’t actually have an early curfew do you?” Dan asks.

Phil laughs. “No!” He says as he stands up stretching with his hands on his lower back. “My bum hurts from sitting down so long.” 

“You’re just mad you couldn’t win more than one time.” Dan says.

“Yeah, ok maybe.” Phil says smiling in good humor as he starts walking to the door. “Thanks for letting me play Mario Kart! Now I can’t wait to get this new one!” He thanks Dan. When he turns around to look at him before he leaves, Phil suddenly realizes he’s definitely the less awkward out of the two of them because Dan is still sitting on the floor with his controller in hand looking hesitant of what to do.  
“Yeah, sure.” He simply says.

“Bye, Dan!” Phil says still trying to remain cheery as possible as he steps outside. “Bye, Phil.” He hears Dan say quietly as he closes the front door behind him. 

Phil sticks his hands in his pockets and starts the walk home wondering what this interaction between them today means and how they’ll act about it tomorrow. He can’t believe the day he’s had with Dan Howell wasn’t completely horrible.


	3. Chapter 3

Phil wakes up Wednesday morning and memories of yesterday start flooding back. It all seems so surreal. If someone had told him yesterday morning that he’d be hanging out with Dan like friends he’d would’ve laughed. Phil started getting ready for the day in an optimistic mindset thinking about how its true things do get better.  Than he thought back to Dan’s past bullying, his flirty behavior and then his almost friendship like behavior yesterday. He started to wonder what exactly their relationship was. Are they friends now? Or was it a fluke and Dan would go back to calling him names and embarrassing him in different ways in front of everybody. By the time he gets to his first class of the day he is nervous. No longer optimistic but a bit hopeful.

Phil watches as Dan walks into class a minute before the bell wearing all black with a zippery bomber jacket on even though it’s a hot day outside. He now notices the stark difference between them even in their clothes. Dan wears all black regardless of the day and Phil wears a breezy colorful purple t-shirt with an Avengers pattern. He suddenly remembers the contrast between their two bedrooms, because yes Phil knows what Dan’s bedroom looks like which is still hard for himself to believe that he now knows stuff about Dan.

Phil looks down at his things and pretends not to notice seeing Dan walk in. He kicks Phil’s desk as he passes by to take his seat. Phil doesn’t even flinch but just smiles quietly to himself as he takes that as seemingly a sort of greeting. The only greeting he is going to get that morning from Dan Howell. Phil didn’t necessarily expect Dan to tell him hi or good morning or anything. He didn’t know what to expect today but he isn’t bothered by the rude behavior towards him. He just feels like he understands it a bit more now. That it’s just the way Dan is.  He likes being rude and making crude jokes, he likes to wear all black and have a minimalist bedroom in just the same way he also likes to watch anime, play video games and keeps a shrine of a role playing game he loves to play. Phil feels as if he knows who Dan Howell is now and he likes knowing. It helps tolerate him and to be honest it gives Phil hope of possibly being friends someday.

Phil pays close attention to the lesson. He is not afraid to raise his hand to answer or ask a question and today the teacher is posing a lot of questions to the class.

“A cloud of gas and dust in space that glows in the sky is called a…?” The teacher asks. Phil raises his hand and she calls on him.

“A nebula.”

“Correct!” She says and then reads the next question.

Phil gets his ear flicked by Dan. “Ow!” He says as reaches to rub at it.

“Dweeb!” Dan calls him and Phil cares less than usual.

“What is Einstein’s theory of general relatively an explanation for?” The teacher reads from her notes. Phil raises his hand once again without hesitating and gets called on.

“Gravity.”

“Correct.”

This time Dan flicks the opposite ear. Phil doesn’t mind so much. It’s just Dan being Dan.

“The boundary where the velocity to escape of a black hole equals the speed of light is called?”

“The event horizon.” Phil answers this time without waiting to be picked since no one else bothered to raise their hand anyways and he’s correct again.

The teacher goes back to her computer and pulls up a slideshow of some nebulas for the class. Dan literally sticks his hand in Phil’s face as he points to one of the photos of the Helix Nebula.

“I think that one is my favorite. It kinda looks like your eyes.” Dan whispers over Phil’s shoulder. Phil stops writing in his notes. His face feels hot and he knows it must be noticeable.

“Blushing for me again, Phil?” Dan asks. Phil can hear the humor in his voice. He must know he’s winning now because nothing he’s said or done so far has gotten a rise out of Phil until he started saying stuff like that to make him blush and Phil hates it.

The teacher moves on to planets next and goes over each one in the solar system even including Pluto’s debatable status.

“Hey, Phil.” Dan whispers to him so only they can hear. “You know what my favorite planet is?”

Phil closes his eyes knowing what Dan’s going to say next because it’s such an overused joke that it’s almost cringe worthy.

“Uranus.”

Phil holds back a laugh but it slips out anyways and Dan laughs too. It sounded funnier out loud than what he imagined. It’s just ridiculous coming from Dan.

“Ya know what?” Dan says sounding thoughtfully.  “I think you’re like my event horizon because I can’t escape you.”

Phil still blushes because it makes him nervous when Dan says stuff like that. Phil thinks he must be saying it on purpose to embarrass him when nothing else works. Although he doesn’t say it out loud much to really embarrass him instead he whispers it so only Phil can hear. This is confusing for Phil who can’t figure out what Dan’s goal is here. Is Dan just trying to mess with his head?

Phil watches the clock because it’s almost time to get out of class. Right before it strikes the end of the hour he feels a presence close to his face and then he feels Dan blow air at his cheek and Phil flinches away from him. Just then the bell rings and the brown haired boy leaves with the rest of the crowd out the door.

In his next class Chris is eager to hear all about yesterday so Phil tells him and includes what happened this morning. He repeats himself again almost eagerly to PJ at lunch. He still can’t believe he hanged out with Dan Howell like friends.

“Be careful, Phil.” PJ tells him. “This seemingly budding friendship of yours could be a dirty trick.” He warns.

“Yeah,” Chris says. “Either that or you’ll encourage the flirting.”

Phil already suspects it’s some kind of joke and he doesn’t want to encourage the flirting but he surely doesn’t know how to avoid it. It also makes him sad because he does wish they could become friends. He looks to where Dan is sitting today at lunch. He’s with his friends and they are laughing and joking around all together. Of course some of them are also known for bullying and other misconduct. They are sitting only a few tables away and Phil tries not to look their way again to not catch any attention. He sticks to talking with his own friends who are asking him about Susan again and then Phil skids past that conversation by taking the time to ask about what’s going on in their lives instead.

The lunch period is almost over and Phil’s glad because he’s felt anxious through most of it and strangely paranoid that he’s being watched. He’s looking down at his tray when he feels PJ kick his leg.

“Ow!” He hears Chris say and looks up to see him rubbing his shin. “What ya kick me for, PJ?” He says irked.

“Shut up, Chris.” PJ whispers as he stares down at his tray and picks at his food with a fork. “Look natural.” He says to them and they both look back down at their trays.

“Don’t look over there but Dan Howell is looking this way.” PJ says and Phil instantly feels his face heat up.

“Please say you’re joking.” Chris says.

“Nope.” PJ whispers.

“He’s not coming this way is he?” Phil asks. Of course he always dreads the thought of Dan or any bully embarrassing them in front of the cafeteria but right now he’s more worried if Dan would start flirting with him even while Phil’s with his friends which would actually be really uncomfortable for Phil.

PJ quickly glances upwards. “No.”

“What is he doing now?” Chris asks.

“He’s still staring,” PJ says.

Phil realizes it must look weird if all three of them are just hunched over their trays picking at their food but not actually eating and just mumbling to each other. So he leans back in his chair and checks the clock on his phone.

“Relax. Lunch is almost over anyways. He can’t pull anything.” He tells them and they all lean back in their chairs and take off together when the bells rings.

Phil passes the day without thinking about any of it too much. When one of his classes with Dan comes up in the day he is still unworried since they have assigned seats literally on the far opposite sides of the classroom. There isn’t much Dan could do to bother him in that class.

He’s arrived early as usual so he sits down and puts in his earphones as he waits for the lesson to begin. A couple minutes before class actually starts Dan walks in but instead of going to his seat, he walks straight up to Phil’s desk.

“Do you want to come over to my house again?” He asks bluntly.

“What?” Phil asks in surprise as he removes his earphones.

“Do you want to come over to play video games and stuff?” Dan asks again.

Phil for sure heard him right but he’s just confused as of what to do. He remembers his friends voicing his fears at lunch that this could be some kind of trap. Or if Dan really is trying to hit on him, he shouldn’t encourage it if he doesn’t feel the same way. Phil thinks he should try to avoid him but part of him really wants to be friends with Dan Howell.

“Um…” He says hesitatingly. Just then the bell rings saving him from having to answer. The teacher tells them all to sit down and Dan leans away from Phil’s desk and goes to sit in his own. Phil has trouble concentrating in class after that.  

This morning Phil almost hoped Dan would invite him over again and just start treating him like a friend now. He didn’t even mind much if he had picked on Phil a little as he always does but when he started talking almost flirtatiously again this morning it made Phil weary of the whole situation. It just left him wondering what the heck was going on.

The class drags on by and as soon as the bell rings Phil takes off to their next class. All he has to do is get through his last class he shares with Dan without talking to him and just leave quickly to art class. Then after the last bell rings he can hang back a bit. Maybe he could get to the library without being seen and hang out there for an hour before he heads home. He’s done that before to avoid bullies after school even a few times with it being Dan. It was a whole other reason he was trying to avoid Dan now though.

Phil realizes he’s out of luck though since the teacher instructs them to meet with their partners for the first few minutes of class to talk about their projects, how they will organize their schedules to meet and exchange contact info. Phil holds back the urge to bang his head against the desk. Although he was setting out to start avoiding him altogether, he is literally being forced into interacting with Dan more. He starts making excuses in his head to tell Dan no if he asks to hang out at his house again like that he already has plans after school with Chris and PJ or with his mom even if that sounds lame. Or if they do have to work on the project he’ll just insist they go to the library instead.

Dan comes over and drops his backpack on Phil’s desk and slides a chair over to sit with him. “So are you coming home with me today?” He asks.

 “Will we actually start the assignment this time?”

“Sure,” Dan says as he takes his phone out. “What’s your number?”

Phil reluctantly pulls out his phone as well and they exchange numbers.

“So I was thinking instead of going to your house maybe we could work on the project at the lib-” Phil gets interrupted by a flash going off in his face from Dan’s phone.

“Did you just take a picture of me while I was talking??” Phil asks incredulously.

“Yup,” Dan says as he stares down at his photo and then he holds the screen up for Phil to see the derpy picture. “I needed a contacts photo for you so I took one.”

“But that’s the most stupid picture!” Phil complained.

“Oh I’m sorry, do you want to pose for me to take another one?” He asks.

“No, not really.” Phil says.

“Fine then, shut up.” Dan says. “Besides, you look adorable. So you’re welcome.”

Phil sighs.

“So are you coming home with me today or what?”

“Um, maybe we should go to the library since it be less distracting.”

“You think I’m distracting?” Dan pokes at his shoulder.

“I think video games are a distracting temptation and the library doesn’t have any of that.”

“Aww,” Dan whines. “But we can do research and then play video games.” He proposes.

He still really does want to hang out with Dan and get to know him more and so he gives in to the compromise.

“Yeah, alright. We could do both.” He says and Dan smiles.

Just then the teacher says time is up and tells everyone to return to their seats and Dan gets up with his backpack to leave.

“Well I guess I’ll see ya later cutie.” He says winking at Phil before he goes to his seat in the back of the class. Phil blushed at that but was thankful at least Dan didn’t get to see this time to comment on it.

Phil actually has trouble concentrating on the lesson in class. He was kicking himself at how easily he gave in to hanging out with Dan again but couldn’t help but to feel excited. He also couldn’t stop thinking about how Dan had taken his picture which was annoying and he had called him adorable and a cutie which was strange but somewhat nice compared to being called a dweeb or a loser all the time.

Their class came to an end and Phil headed to art class. Susan sat next to him again and they were talking for a bit until Phil was interrupted by a text message. His phone had buzzed in his pocket and was surprised to see it was a text from Dan saying, _Hey Philly._ He texted again a second later before Phil could reply. _i’ll wait for u by the main doors._ It was followed by another two messages, _if u try to ditch me again i’ll kick your ass u dork_ and _ok see u later cutie^^_

That last one made Phil blush. He couldn’t believe Dan was actually texting him right now. He started to wonder if it wasn’t a mistake swapping numbers.

“Are you texting your girlfriend?” Susan asks noticing his blush as he stares at his phone.

 Phil laughs at that. “No! I don’t even have a girlfriend! It was just my friend being silly.” He texts back _k_ and then puts his phone away.

“Oh,” She simply says and then starts chatting again. Phil feels his phone vibrate again. He doesn’t reach for it right away although he really wants to but feels it would be rude to Susan who is still talking to him. His phone vibrates again and again in his pocket so he checks it the next chance he gets to see the short string of messages all from Dan.

 

_OMG IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS K??_

 

_Phil??_

 

_PHILLLL!!_

 

_asshole_

 

Phil types out a reply but then deletes it. If he replies now then he will keep texting back. He surprisingly was a bit impatient for the class to end because he is looking forward to meeting Dan afterschool which is a big difference from yesterday. Earlier he had been planning to avoid the brown haired boy altogether but that plan had failed before it even started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 **A/N:** Welp there ya go! I was going to upload it yesterday but I got a bit lazy about finishing it and starting the next chapter. I’m going out of town this weekend so I’ll write the next chap maybe during the car ride but not upload it till I get back home. Not exactly best writing quality ever but hope you’re enjoying the story anyways!


	4. Chapter 4

Phil finds Dan waiting for him after school at the top of the staircase near the main doors like he had said. His stance is a bit strange for a tall person leaning back with hunched shoulders making himself appear smaller than he is. Phil thinks he seems unsure of himself and recalls back to yesterday’s hesitant goodbye from Dan. Maybe Dan is just an awkward person behind the aggressive front he puts up.

As Phil gets closer he greets the brown haired boy who turns to see him approaching and instantly gives him a luminous smile which throws Phil off for a second.

“There you are!” He exclaims happily and then shifts into defensiveness. “You took your time.”

“The bell literally rang five minutes ago? There’s crowds in the hallways? Did you expect me to run here? Calm down.” Phil tells him with some sass because he suddenly has the confidence to do so around Dan. 

“It’s probably because you let everyone walk all over you. Literally you’re like the last one to get to the stairs.”

“Yeah, well, some of us are proper and polite and don’t shove other people out of the way when we walk.” He says accusingly.

Dan rolls his eyes. “Yeah, alright. Could you politely shut up?” He mocks him as he starts down the stairs and Phil follows.

They both look down as they take the stairs and then step off at the same time and begin their walk together side by side. That’s when Phil notices they are both around the same height. He keeps glancing over at Dan’s head trying to tell for sure who’s taller. They both duck their heads as they exit the doors at the same time.

“Hey! We both do that head ducking thing at the door!” Phil says excitedly.

“That’s cause we’re the same height you idiot!” Dan says.

“Wait. But weren’t you shorter?” Phil suddenly asks him.

“Yes, Phil. But then I took some magic mushrooms last night after you left and I grew four inches since then.” He answers back sarcastically.

“I think you did!” Phil says still astonished. He looks down at the other boy’s shoes to see if that doesn’t explain it. He is wearing high tops and Phil wonders if they have a hidden heel so he kicks at his shoes to inspect them while Dan is still walking which nearly causes him to fall. He reaches out to hang on to Phil’s shoulder to catch his balance.

“What are you doing?! What was that for??” Dan shouts in a high pitched voice.

Phil tries not to laugh. “I was just checking if you weren’t wearing heels in your shoes.”

Dan lets go of his shoulder as he regains his balance and just glares at him silently. They begin walking again.

Dan was shorter than him at one point. Phil knows this because he remembers at one time thinking it was lame that a shorter boy than him was bullying him. “I guess you had a growth spurt and I hadn’t noticed.” Phil tells him. Dan side glances at him but says nothing.

“So,” Dan starts. “I was ordering some anime dvds online the other day and I was thinking I should actually try reading the manga they’re based on. Have you ever read manga?”

“I own a few but I never really got into reading them.” Phil admits.

“Does the bookstore downtown sell them?” Dan asks.

Phil shrugs. “Maybe? I don’t know.”

He rolls his eyes at Phil. “You use to work there so how do you not know?”

Phil looks over at him confused. “How do you know I use to work there?”

“I saw you one time.” Dan says as he looks away.

“Oh.” Phil simply says.

“I wasn’t stalking you or anything. I’ve been there a few times and would see you behind the counter sometimes or in the backroom with stuff.”  He rambles.

Phil doesn’t know what to say to that. It feels as extremely weird like that time he complimented his neck. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything.” He tells him, deciding to laugh it off.

“Right,” Dan says as they both pause because they’ve arrived at the house.

Phil notices there is no car in the driveway. “Are your parents home today?” He asks.

“No, they usually work late.” Dan says. Phil would be curious to see what Dan’s parents would be like. If they turn out to be really nice people he’d want to ask them how the heck their child turned out so aggressive.

They walk up to the pathway and find a package left in front of the door and Dan picks it up. Phil looks over his shoulder to see Dan’s name addressed on it.

“Hey, I think it’s the anime dvds I ordered that I was telling you about!” He says looking at Phil excitedly. “Do you want to watch them?” He asks seeming really hopeful.

Phil stares back at him silently thinking about it. He wants to be stubborn about it and say no because they should really start reaching the project. “Okay, maybe we can watch like the first three episodes but then the rest of the time we work on the project.”

“Yes!” Dan cheers, unlocks his door and immediately sets up one of the dvds to watch.

Phil quickly finds out that Dan is a procrastinator. After the first three episodes they are hooked on the show and they keep on watching episode after episode. When Phil tries to be the voice of reason urging them to start on their work Dan assures him they can start on it later. When Phil reminds him again they should really start on it because it’s a lot of work to do Dan tells him they still have over a week to finish it. Phil lets himself be persuaded and agrees with him every time. At some point Phil wonders what time it is and checks his phone. To his surprise its past 1am and he has one missed text message from his mom and a few from his friends. He quickly messages his mom back that he lost track of time and he’ll be home soon and starts to type a reply to his friends but then decides to text them later.

“Phil, are you even paying attention?” Dan asks him noticing he’s pulled out his phone.

“I’m listening to it!” He says as he puts his phone away. “I’m going to finish watching this episode and then I’m heading home.” Phil tells him.

Dan quietly stares thoughtfully at nothing in particular and then looks back at the show. “Oh, ok,” is all he says. Phil tries to go back to watching the show too but now he can’t concentrate because he’s super self-aware of his surroundings. He’s bewildered once again at the thought that he’s hanging out with Dan and this time he stayed even longer than before. He also takes note of how close they’re sitting together. They’re both sitting on the carpeted floor shoulder to shoulder leaning against the sofa instead of actually sitting on it. They’ve just about finished all the snacks on the coffee table that Dan had brought out.

“Are your parents home yet?” He wonders out loud and Dan turns around to look at a side door that Phil assumes must lead to the garage then Dan looks at the clock on the wall and seems startled at the time. “Probably,” He says. They hadn’t noticed them pass by because they were too invested into the show.

“Do you think I could borrow the dvd after you finish it so I can watch the rest of it?” Phil asks.

Dan looks over at him. “We can finish watching it together tomorrow.” He offers.

“Ok.” Phil says happily but surprised if Dan could actually pause watching anymore episodes till tomorrow so they could finish watching it together.

The episode finally comes to an end and Phil gets up to stretch before heading to the door.

“See you tomorrow!” He says with certainty this time around. He definitely feels like friends now but Dan is just as awkward at saying goodbye as he was yesterday which makes Phil feel awkward in turn. Regardless, Phil walks home feeling pretty optimistic about their friendship.

 

On Thursday morning, Dan brings Phil a package of cereal from the cafeteria breakfast. He walks in a few seconds before the bell rings and drops it on Phil desk without a word before taking his own seat behind him. Phil is elated by the nice surprise. It was a kind and thoughtful thing to do and he feels a bubble of emotion grow and swell inside of him. He keeps smiling about the nice gesture until Dan ruins it by getting him in trouble.

Phil feels his phone buzz in his pocket and he discreetly pulls it out to glance at the message and sees that it’s from Dan. _ru coming over to finish watching the thing?_

_yup thats the plan:)_

He leaves his phone in his lap and waits a few minutes for a reply back. He feels his phone buzz right when the teacher is making it hard to not get caught but he tries to look at Dan’s message anyway.

_sucker^^_

Phil looks at the message puzzled and stares down at his phone longer then he should.

“Mrs. Martinez! Phil keeps staring at his crotch!” Phil’s head shoots upwards and the class laughs at Dan’s words. The teacher catches Phil on his phone and she seems a bit surprised at first that it’s Phil but scowls him anyways but doesn’t confiscate it. Phil is in disbelief that Dan just did that to him but at same time he really isn’t. All his optimism of friendship from last night is dead and Phil suddenly remembers how much he hates Dan Howell.

“I knew she wouldn’t take your phone away.” He hears Dan’s voice whisper to him from behind. “It’s so unfair. If it were me she would have taken it and given me dentition in a heartbeat.”

“Don’t talk to me. I hate you.” Phil whispers back over his shoulder.

Dan stays thoughtfully quiet for a second before answering. “No you don’t.”

Phil says has stopped responding to him.

“You’re still coming home with me even if I have to drag you.” Dan tries again.

“Fine, but only because I like your taste in shows.” Phil says.

“Ouch.” Dan replies. “You’re cruel. Everyone thinks you’re so innocent and kind but you’re secretly mean.”

Phil rolls his eyes but doesn’t respond back and so Dan stays quiet for the rest of their class and contents himself by poking at Phil randomly with his pen through class instead.

“Bye Phil! I’ll see ya later!” Dan tells him when the bell rings as they walk out of class together.

They act civil to one another for the rest of their classes and the day goes by quickly without Phil agonizing over what Dan might do to him next. Phil looks forward to seeing Dan afterschool and Dan seems a little less awkward while waiting for him. They talk and joke as they walk.

As soon they arrive home Dan puts the dvd on to finish the saga. Phil opens his backpack and pulls out his extra package of cereal that Dan had grabbed for him and they munch on it together as they watch anime. When the last episode comes to an end Dan pulls out his laptop to show Phil a similar new on-going anime streaming online and convinces Phil on starting it with him. They make themselves something to eat in the kitchen first then head up to Dan’s room and sit in his bed to watch the show as they eat their dinner together. Sometime during their evening Phil thinks he’s heard Dan’s parents come home but Dan doesn’t comment on it and no one enters the room so Phil doesn’t mention it. They finish all the available episodes of their new addiction and come to the realization that once again they’ve lost another day to work on their school project. Phil feels a bit guilty he didn’t even try this time around to convince Dan on starting it because he had completely forgotten about it himself.

“Okay, here’s the plan.” Phil says urgently sitting up from his comfortable leaned back position. At some point both boys had put their feet up and laid back on the headboard close shoulder to shoulder with each other as they were enraptured in to their show. “Tomorrow we go ahead and watch the new episode but then immediately after that we start on the research. No more starting new shows!” He points his finger at Dan in a blaming way.

“Yeah, alright.” Dan says sitting up as well. “I guess you’re leaving now?”

“Yeah, it’s probably really late.” Phil decides not to look at the clock because he knows it must be late if a night owl like himself is beginning to feel tired.

“Okay,” Dan says quietly and Phil gets out of the bed. He starts walking to the door when he feels a pillow hit his back and he turns around to see Dan grinning at him. Phil picks it up and throws it back and then hurries to get the door open as Dan laughs. He stops hesitantly in the doorway and the pillow hits his head but Phil is too distracted to fuss over it.

“Dan?” He calls to the brown haired boy.

“What’s wrong?” He says quieting his laughter. “Do you miss me already?”

“No!” Phil says still standing in his doorway.

“Are you afraid of the dark then?” He asks jokingly.

“No, I’m afraid to run into your parents in their house when they don’t know who I am. You should walk with me to the door so I don’t have to explain.”

“They know you.” He simply says.

“No they don’t!” Phil argues.

“It’s a small town and we’ve been to the same schools together when we were kids. They know of you.” He explains.

“But they don’t _know_ me. Just walk with me already!” Phil says exasperatingly.

“Alright, alright, I’m going! Calm your tits already.” Dan says as gets out of his bed.

Sure enough they run into Dan’s mom who’s coming out of a laundry room with a basket of clothes. When she sees her son with a friend she smiles.

“I thought you were asleep!” She tells Dan and then greets Phil. “I think I saw you here yesterday night! You were both intently watching some show when I came home but I decided not to interrupt it for you both.” She looks at her son a bit taken aback. “It’s so late! I can’t believe you kept awake so late on a school night!” She says.

“We lost track of time.” Dan says and she nods then introduces herself and asks for his friend’s name.

“Hi,” Phil says shyly. “I’m Phil Lester.”

Her expression changes in recognition. “Oh, I remember that name! Dan use to come home from school telling me about his day and the kids he played with. He’d always mention you saying, I played at recesses with Phil Lester today and I won or Phil didn’t want to play with me today!” She says laughing. Phil tries not to cringe at those words. _Play_ was more like intimidate with pushing and name calling. He glances at Dan to see him staring uneasily at the rambling woman with a hint of a blush in his cheeks. “Can’t believe I’m only barely meeting you now! I know your mom too, Kathy. We’d chat at those school functions sometimes. Say hello to her for me!” His mom says and she begins to walk up the stairs then quickly turns back to look at them. “Oh, wait! Did you need a ride home?” She asks concerned.

“No, it’s ok!” Phil quickly answers. “It’s a really short walk.” He tells her.

“Well, then make sure to call Dan when you’ve gotten home safely, ok?” She says sweetly.

“I will!” Phil says as Dan starts pulling at his arm. “Goodnight!” He tells her cheerily as he lets Dan drag him into the living room. He doesn’t let go of Phil’s arm till they get to the door.

“I hate you for forcing me to walk you to the door and bare that terrible conversation.” Dan tells him and Phil laughs.

“It wasn’t that bad.” Phil says comfortingly. “Just a tad awkward. It would have been weirder if she ran into me alone without knowing my name.”

“Yeah, but why did she have to go on and on?” Dan whined. “Why couldn’t she just let us go without talking so much?”

Phil shrugged at that but was still amused at Dan’s embarrassment that all kids get from their parents talking to their friends. Dan must have picked up on that Phil was laughing at him inwardly.

“Please _don’t_ call me when you get home. I don’t care if you get mauled by a bear or abducted by aliens or whatever on your way home. And for the record, I didn’t mention you all the time. I mentioned you like once but that lady has the memory of an elephant!”

Phil laughed at that. “Really? Well here I was thinking I was special.”

Dan stared quietly at him for a second. “You are special.”

Phil stopped laughing for a second at his words but then realized he must mean it as a joke. “Thanks, I guess.” He mumbles sarcastically and moves to open the door. He started to say his usual goodbye when he felt Dan gently place his hand on his arm then make a fist into his jacket. “Wait,” he heard him say quietly.

Phil turned to look at him and saw him looking very awkward and small again so he smiled at him in encouragement. “Yes, Dan?”

“I- mean don’t get mauled by a bear and die because then I’d get stuck doing all the work by myself and that would suck.”

Phil frowns at his words and moves to the door again but Dan doesn’t let go of his arm and tugs on his jacket again. “Also, don’t trip on air like you usually do, because knowing you, I think you’d trip and fall in front of a moving car.” He tells the black haired boy and Phil glares at him.

“I make no promises. Bye, Dan!” He says as he gets out the door finally.

“Bye, Phil! See ya tomorrow!” Dan says and Phil is happy at how sincere Dan’s goodbye is.

He walks home from Dan’s house for the third night in a row and is feeling optimistic as usual. He’s made a friend with an unlikely person. It’s always nice to have someone around who likes the same things as you. Dan may have been cruel and weird in the past but Phil is looking past it now and he doesn’t regret their friendship. He realizes this is the happiest he’s been in a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 **A/N:** Welp there ya go. Sorry for the long wait. I said I was going to work on it during a long car ride but instead I spaced out most of the time Lol then I got kinda lazy waiting for some motivation and it finally came around.

 Also, I regret not writing from Dan’s pov bc sometimes I really want to express something he’s thinking but im hoping you all more or less can see right through him and that you can kinda guess at it. There is one part I wrote from his pov a long time that I will include.  

The more lovey-dovey stuff is coming up next chapter or maybe the one right after.


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

Phil saw Dan after school for the fourth day in a row on Friday. “So what’s our plan today, Dan?” He said pushing the matter at hand to the other boy.

“We’re going to do our homework like some good little nerds.” Dan said with no spirit in his voice. Phil smiled pleased he had finally gotten him to agree on being responsible about it.

“My parents are off today. They’ll be home for sure so there’s not much of a chance we’d get to watch anime anyways with them around to check in on what I’m doing with my time every hour.” Dan complained and Phil eyed him thinking over a solution in his head to avoid the distraction of hovering parents.

“Want to come over to my house?” Phil asks him. “My dad is working late today and my mom’s left to visit my grandma for the weekend.”

Dan quickly turns to him grinning. “Are you inviting me over?”

“Sure,” Phil says.

“Finally!” He says excitedly much to Phil’s surprise. “I thought you’d never invite me over to hang out with you since you never want to come over to my house.” Dan explains to him.

Phil feels a bit guilty at possibly making Dan feel like his friendship was unwanted but also a bit wary if it wasn’t a mistake inviting Dan to his house which is like his personal space but it’s what friends usually do. “I like going to your house and hanging out with you.” Phil assures him. “I don’t actually hate you or anything.”

Dan is staring at him with a big smile that’s a bit mesmerizing and it makes Phil smile back. “Lead the way then,” He says. Phil starts walking and Dan follows by his side with a quiet excitement that Phil doesn’t really understand. Didn’t Dan think call him a loser once upon a time? What’s so exciting about following him home and hanging out with him now? Phil decides that Dan is just a very complicated individual and its best not to try to understand him because all it would do is give Phil a headache trying to figure out this boy.

They arrive to the house and Phil leads them up to his room. He opens his door and they step in and Phil is taken aback at Dan who starts to act like a kid in a candy shop that can’t decide what to look at first. Phil knows his room is very colorful with bright walls of many posters with a big bookshelf filled with stuff and a lot of merchandise of his favorite things, so he understands if it’s a lot to take in but he is still surprised at Dan’s wonder.

Dan walks over to one of the clusters of posters Phil has on his wall then over to the massive bookshelf of stuff and then to Phil’s desk all while commenting on everything he sees with excitement at how they like the same things and expresses interest in some of the cool decorative knick-knacks he spots. Phil just stands there watching Dan delightedly looking and touching everything.

Dan picks up a photo frame on Phil’s desk from a family vacation then puts it back to pick up another one to look at then finishes and walks over to eye the bookshelf again. His stare fixates on the last shelf of board games and he kneels down and pulls out a game.

“I’ve never even heard of some of these!” He says as he reads the back of the box. “Oh my God can we play this?” Dan says as he looks up at Phil from his spot on the floor. “Please, Phil? Please?” He whines like a child.

“Um, I think we should really start on the project now.” Phil says as he finally moves from his spot at the doorway to walk to his desk and drops his backpack down.

“Oh, right.” Dan says sounding disappointed. He grabs a plushy sitting above his head on the bookshelf to look at. He then looks up to see some of the band posters across from him and starts talking about them which distracts Phil. They have a long conversation about it and other things they both like. Phil finally convinces Dan to start the research on their topic for class. They sit together at Phil’s computer to do so although they interrupt themselves a lot from their work because they can’t stop talking. At some point they both give up on their work to watch youtube videos and listen to music instead till they get hungry.

Phil tells Dan to pick a dvd and he goes down to the kitchen to make some sandwiches and popcorn. He grabs some other snacks and drinks then heads back upstairs trying to balance it all on one tray. He finds Dan laying down in his bed looking up at another picture frame in his hands.

“Did you find a movie?”  Phil asks as he places the tray down.

Dan points at a dvd he left on the desk and Phil takes out his laptop from his backpack to set it up then places it on the bed.  

“I’ve always wondered what your room looks like.” Dan comments.

“Why?” Phil asks.

“Just curiosity,” Dan says after a moment.

“I don’t understand.  Why would you care?” Phil pushes.

“I wanted-” Dan stumbles over his words. “I thought we had stuff in common and could maybe be friends because we’re the same. You can find out stuff about people from looking at their bedroom so I was curious about yours. I wanted to know your aesthetic I guess.”

“So now you know my room is cooler.” Phil tells him.

“What? No, it’s not!” Dan argues.

“It’s more colorful and interesting than yours.” Phil points out. “Yours is modern and edgy which is cool I guess but it’s kind of boring.” Phil voices aloud what he’s been thinking since he first saw Dan’s room and had compared it to his own.

“Boring?!” Dan repeats offended as he sits up to look at the other boy. “It’s not boring! It just has a minimalistic style!”

“Which is boring.” Phil says again.

“So that’s what you really think of my room?”

“I guess so but I didn’t mean it in a bad way! It’s just stifling and uninspiring. Why not have something more fun to look at every day? I’m just throwing some ideas out there!” Phil says defensively.

“Well, then keep your ideas to yourself!” He shouts. “Everyone thinks you’re nice but you are mean, Phil Lester.” He says shaking his head.

Phil laughs at that. “Sorry! Alright, I’ll shut up then.”

“Please do!”

“Let’s forget it and watch the movie.” Phil says as he presses play and climbs in to his bed next to Dan then lays back on his headboard with his feet up like they did yesterday. Dan is still glaring at him but leans back as well to watch the movie and finishes his fuming.

They start to bond again over making fun of the movie’s characters. When the movie ends they put on another one and then another one. Midway through the third movie Dan started to drift in and out of sleep. Too many nights of staying up real late had finally began to take its toll on him. He slumped over to one side letting the sleep overtake him and let his head fall on Phil’s shoulder. The black haired boy froze at the contact but then relaxed into it and leaned his head on top of the others and they stayed like that for a while. Phil started to drift off to sleep too till he saw the car lights outside his window pulling into the driveway which meant his dad was home. He figured it was getting late and Dan is obviously tired so he should send him home to sleep properly in his own bed. Phil pushed his shoulder into Dan to wake him up. When Dan struggled to open his eyes Phil put his hands on his shoulders to shake him a bit.

“Wakey wakey lazy daisy!” He said loudly.

Dan’s eyes fluttered open and smiled when Phil’s face was the first thing he saw. “What time is it?” He asked as he rubbed his eyes.

Phil decided to try to fool him by taking the time to check his phone and look at it with wide eyes. “Oh my God! Dan! It’s 6am!” He shouted.

Dan rolled his eyes at him completely unstartled. “No it’s not.”

Phil laughed anyways. “Yeah, you’re right it’s not.”

“You’re a horrible liar.” Dan grumbled.

“You should head home now and get some sleep.” He tells him.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Dan sits up and stretches but takes his time actually getting out of the bed to leave.

“So much for getting stuff done for the project.” Phil says as he gets up to start putting stuff away.

“Today was another epic fail at that, huh?” Dan asked.

“Kinda. At least we did a little work on it.”

“But it was fun wasn’t it? I had fun today.” Dan says.

“True.” Phil smiles to himself. “It really was a fun day.”

“We can always try working on it again tomorrow.” Dan suggest.

“Tomorrow’s Saturday.” Phil corrects him.

“Yes, I know that genius. What I meant is we can hang out tomorrow and work on it.”

“I can’t. I have plans with PJ and Chris.” Phil tells him as he stuffs his laptop back into his backpack. Dan just stares at him quietly not sure what to say.

“Okay.” He says thinking. “What about in the evening after you’re done with your dorky friends?”

Phil rolls his eyes at the minor insult. “Still cant. It’s kind of an all day thing we have planned.”

“All day doing what?” Dan questions.

Phil suddenly feels too insecure to tell him about the type of nerdy days his friends and him have planned on Saturdays without being mocked by Dan about it. So he decides to keep it to himself not wanting to sound lame in front of Dan. “Just stuff,” He answers.

“Okay?” Dan says sounding bewildered by the long pause and lack of explanation. “What about Sunday then?” He asks.

Phil thinks about it. He has nothing planned for Sunday other than catching up on all the homework and studying he neglected most of the week while he was hanging out with Dan. Other than that he didn’t feel like doing much else except having a lazy day at home by himself.

“Can’t Sunday either but we can start working on it next week when I see you on Monday.” Phil said with finality unknowing that Dan only grew angry with every shut down at an opportunity to hang out together as if he were avoiding spending time with him.

“Fine.” He muttered bitterly but Phil didn’t hear the spite in his voice. Dan put on his shoes and grabbed his backpack from the floor and started out the door. Phil quickly followed behind him to walk him out incase Dan awkwardly ran into his dad. Dan was walking quicker than Phil could keep up with and was already opening the front door to leave without a word.

“Wait!” Phil called out.

“Yeah?” Dan paused at the door but didn’t turn to look at him.

For once it was Phil who was hesitantly unsure how to say goodbye without it being awkward. “See you later.” He said almost like a question. “It was fun hanging out and I’m glad you came over so I guess have a good weekend since I won’t get to see you again till like Monday.”

Dan relaxed at his words and turned around to look at him. “Bye, see you Monday then. I’ll text you later, ok?” He smiled.

“Sure, ok.” Phil smiled back and watched Dan walk down his front walkway. He yelled bye and waved to him and Dan waved back. Phil closed the door when the brown haired boy was out of sight.

Phil Lester had a long weekend. He spent a very long Saturday with his friends and a very long Sunday by himself. It wasn’t long because of the company he spent it with or the lack of it but because he spent both days expecting Dan to text him like he had said he would. He kept checking his phone for any new messages. He knew he could try texting Dan something first but he made an excuse each time he thought about doing it. Although he had another great Saturday spent with Chris and PJ like usual, he was still left feeling disappointed at the end of the day when he never got a text from Dan. On Sunday he was alone and bored out of his mind with homework that he almost regretted saying no to hanging out with Dan. Finally on Sunday night his cell ringed and he dropped whatever he was doing instantly. He saw it was a call from a number he didn’t recognize but he answered it anyways with a tentative hello.

“Hello! Phil?” A girl’s voice replied that he recognized.

“Susan?” He asked confused.

She chuckled. “It’s me!” She said cheerily.

“Hey! How’s it going?” He greets her as he sits down to talk comfortably with her on the phone.

“It’s going great! What are you up to?”

“Nothing at all! I was just bored to tears when you called!” He says eagerly.

“I’m glad I decided to call then,” She laughs.

“Wait, how did you get my number?”

“Oh I just happened to ask a friend if they had it and so they gave it to me.”

“That’s great,” He says sincerely.

“I didn’t need anything really I just wanted to talk to you because I think you’re really nice and cool and I thought it be great to be friends with you.” She tells him honestly and Phil smiles.

“Aww, I’m glad and I’d love to be friends with you too!” He replies.

They talk for a while and an hour has passed when he feels his phone buzz in his hand. He checks it while he continues his conversation with Susan.

_whats up dork_

He is excited to see it’s from Dan. He starts to text back but then realizes maybe it’s rude to do so if he’s still on the phone with Susan because he’s not completely paying attention to what she’s saying so he waits. He is trying to finish up the conversation with her when he hears the signal for an incoming call. He checks to see who its from and is surprised its Dan trying to call him. He finishes talking to Susan as unrushed and politely as possible then quickly texts Dan back.

_Hi!_

_sorry I was on the phone with a friend_

_was it your mom? LOL_

_No! shut up your timing is just horrible_

Dan reminds him that one of their favorite tv shows is about to start so Phil goes downstairs to watch it. Dan calls him and they talk on and off as they watch it. They’re both quiet as they watch attentively during tense moments in the show and then react eagerly when the moment passes. They hang up when the show ends and switch back to texting. They text for a long time and at some point late at night Dan starts asking the big questions about the meaning of life, the afterlife and the future which Phil only replies back enthusiastically with answers of aliens and robots much to Dan’s frustration.

_OMG why is the answer always aliens with you??_

_because its probably the truth??_

_Ru a conspiracy theorist or something_

_No but maybe its because I AM AN ALIEN_

_wow_

_im so done bye_

_alright gd night earthling boy_

_um I mean dan_

_gd night space boy_

_I mean idiot_

_Ouch that hurt my heart_

_oh so aliens have hearts then?_

_Yes we do unlike you dan_

_Ohhhh nice burn philip_

_But its only because AN ALIEN STOLE IT! DUN DUN DUN_

_I KNEW IT lol_

_I ACCUSE YOU! YOU STOLE IT_

_NO I DIDN’T IT WASN’T ME_

_Ok I believ u but I think it also stole your brain as well Lol_

_Ahaha what is that supposed to mean Daniel??_

_That it would explain a lot if an alien stole your brain_

_I cant take these kind of insults anymore!_

_Alright well I have to go now and do alien things like abduct ppl so bye_

_u can abduct me tonight ;)_

_This conversation has turned so strange I think were both delirious_

_U started it!_

_Im so sorry_

_Srsly tho gd night already_

_Ok gd night phil_

 

 

 

 

 

 **A/N:** Poor Susan. She doesn’t stand a chance. I don’t even know why that idea came to mind to write her into this chapter just for a second there but I did. I mean like c’mon Phil is cute and sweet so it can’t be only Dan who would get a crush on someone as great as him.


	6. Chapter 6

 

 

 

Phil usually dreaded Mondays and not just because it was the beginning of the school week. Every Monday one of their elective classes was switched out for a physical education course and Phil knew he was too clumsy to keep up with any of it. It was embarrassing tripping over his own two feet every time and having other people witness it, not to mention feeling sore and bruised afterwards.

He sat in his seat waiting for his first class to start not really looking forward to the day. Dan strode in a few minutes before the bell as usual. His eyes found Phil’s right away and he smiled with a mischievous look in his eyes.

As he passed by he ran his hand through Phil’s hair ruffling it backwards. “Hey, you spork.” He greeted but then he paused to stare at Phil. “Actually,” He said thoughtfully. “Has anyone ever told you that you look sexy with your hair pushed back?”

Phil rolled his eyes at the reference. “It’s too early for your bs. Just go sit down. ”

Dan grins down at him then takes his seat behind him and Phil takes a moment to comb his hair back into place. The brown haired boy sits quietly only for a second before he decides to tug at the back of Phil’s chair to get his attention. The sudden movement backwards startles the black haired boy a bit and he drops his pen.

“So what did you do all weekend?” Dan asks

Phil straightens himself in his seat feeling self-conscious. He’s reluctant to share about his time spent with his friends. They actually like making up scripts and filming movies together on Saturdays. PJ usually writes and directs it, Chris is the main character most of the time although all of them act in it and Phil does the editing. He’s embarrassed that maybe it will sound lame to Dan. “Oh, you know. Just stuff and whatever.” He tries to answer as casually as possible.

Dan is looking at him impatiently. “And _that_ took all weekend?” He asks frustrated trying to understand what plans Phil had chosen over spending time with him.

“Yup,” Phil said nonchalantly looking down at his desk.

“Sounds lame,” Dan says to Phil’s dismay.

“Oh, yeah? And what did you do with your weekend?” He questioned him turning around in his seat to look at the other boy. Before he could hear the answer their teacher calls for everyone’s attention to begin class and so he faces forward. During the lecture Dan kept lightly kicking at his chair or poking his neck. When class gets quiet again he whispers to Phil.

“I bet you traded collectible cards and wrote fanfiction together, right?” He makes fun of him.

“You know what fanfiction is?” Phil teases him back.

“Don’t sass me, nerd.” He says loud enough for the students around them to hear. He sounds more aggravated than joking. If Dan was going to start trying to intimidate him again Phil wasn’t going to stand for it.

“What’s your problem today?” Phil asks him turning around to look at the brown haired boy.

“That you’re such a lame ass dweeb.” He answers back callously. Dan was really pushing him today and Phil didn’t understand why.

“Fuck off, Dan.” Phil says turning away from him irritated. Dan automatically pulls Phil’s seat all the way back towards him almost causing Phil to fall out of his chair. Phil tries to scoot back into place but it’s no use because Dan is holding the seat back against his desk so he couldn’t move away from him. Phil makes a noise of frustration at being back in this same situation again. He turns around to glare at him and places his hands on either side of Dan’s desk.

“Why are you being like this?”

“Tell me what you were doing,” he demands.

“What does it matter?” Phil asks frustrated.

“I want to know what’s so interesting to you that you spent all weekend unavailable.”

“Well that’s too bad because I don’t have to tell you about it if I don’t want to so just shut up already and let it go!” Phil tells him angrily.

“Fucking fine! Keep your secrets!” Dan stays quiet for a second then smirks at him. “Ya know, you’re real adorable when you’re mad.”

“What?!” Phil ask incredulously still glaring at Dan. Just then teacher catches them talking and calls their names.

“Phil won’t let go of my desk!” Dan says instantly pointing at the black haired boy sitting so close to him.

“What?!” Phil says again confused at the madness of the whole situation. He lets go of Dan’s desk and is able to scoot away from him.

The lesson resumes and Phil seethes quietly as he ignores Dan poking at his neck again.

The class finally comes to end when the bell rings and Phil is busily packing his things when he notices Dan waiting for him beside his desk.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to walk you to class,” Dan tells him and Phil blushes.

“No, thanks.”

“Why not? I’ll even carry your books for you.”

“I don’t need to be walked to class like some girl in a high school romance movie or something.” He says flustered as he swats his hand as if he’s waving the idea away.

“Fine then.” Dan says taking off his backpack and offering it to Phil. “You can walk me to class and carry my books instead.”

Phil sighs in annoyance. “Fine! You can walk with me to class but everyone can carry their own damn books.”

They walk out of class together and Phil suddenly feels awkward walking through the halls having Dan by his side.

“So, are we going to my house or your house today?” Phil decides to ask remembering their unfinished project.

“Can I come over to your house?” Dan asks.

“Sure,” Phil says as they stop in front of his class. “I’ll see you after school.”

“Alright. Laterz, dork.” Dan says before walking off. Phil rolls his eyes at him and enters his class. Chris is already in his seat and Phil is unsure if he noticed him talking to Dan. If he did he doesn’t mention it and Phil is glad because he doesn’t feel like talking about it. He’ll update his friends and rant about it to them at lunch when they have more time to talk.

Phil keeps an eye on the clock anxiously knowing he has to go to P.E. next period and he’s not looking forward to it. He is sad when the bell rings. He says his goodbyes to Chris before heading to the gym locker rooms. He drags his feet taking his time getting there. That ends up leaving him a short amount of time to change his clothes while mostly everyone is already heading outside. He notices Dan walking with his friends also heading out.

In the locker room he over hears that their playing football today and he groans. Phil was not an aggressive person and he does not appreciate being forced to play an aggressive game. He is in the last group of people to change out and get to the field. The instructor is already dividing them into two teams when he gets there. They aren’t given any protective gear since it’s meant to be a casual game for good exercise and they are quickly sent to huddle up with their team to talk strategy for a few minutes. Then after that both teams line up against each other on the football field and wait for the coach to blow the whistle to start playing. Phil hears the whistle blow and before he could even brace himself someone is already tackling him into the ground. Phil falls on his back getting the wind knocked out of him. He tries to get his bearings and realizes its Dan who has landed on top of him.

“What’s up, dweeb?” He says and then quickly gets up and runs off to play the game leaving Phil on the ground. Phil is hating his life right about now as he slowly gets up feeling sore.

He hears the instructor blow the whistle for them to line up again. He joins his team and when the whistle blows this time he actually gets to do some moving around. Phil really isn’t playing to win or helping his team. He just tries to look like he’s participating while keeping away from everyone else. He is enjoying his space standing away from the commotion when he gets tackled from the side out of nowhere by Dan again. Phil thinks it was completely unnecessary since he wasn’t even anywhere near the ball. Dan runs away without saying anything this time and the whistle blows again for them to get in formation.

As the game goes on Phil realizes Dan’s sight is set on tackling him whenever he gets the chance to do so. Phil makes it his mission to stay out of Dan’s way by sticking to the opposite side of the field from wherever Dan is. The person running with the ball and the chasing players pass by not too far from where Phil’s standing which brings Dan closer to him. He comes straight at him and tackles Phil down onto his back once again. Phil can hear the commotion going on around them of players tackling each other all trying to go for the ball. Phil tries to get up but Dan sits his weight down on his thighs and pushes his shoulders back down leaning over him. “Stay down!”

“I’m not even trying to get the stupid ball! Get off me!” He says waiting for Dan to move but Dan only tightens his grip on his shoulders. “Make me, dork!”

In a sudden moment Phil manages to get his hands on Dan’s shoulders and lifts with his hips and pushes him turning them over and quickly puts his weight on top of Dan instead. Dan tries to lift his arms and Phil is quick to pin them back down as the brown haired boy squirms underneath him trying to find some leverage against him. Phil continues to hold him down and Dan stops trying and just stares up at him short of breath.

“Dan and Phil!” They hear the instructor shout at them. “Get off each other and get into the game!” Dan laughs and Phil blushes at the comment. He realizes everyone else has moved away chasing the ball on the other side of the field while they were still rolling around. He quickly climbs off Dan and gets to his feet but Dan only rolls on to his side still laughing. Phil stares down at him still on the ground. He reaches down to grab Dan’s arm and starts pulling at him to get up. Dan makes it hard on him by not moving an inch.  The coach yells at them to hurry it up. “Get up before you get us in trouble you idiot.” He then lets Phil help him upwards and they rejoin the game.

The next time the instructor blows the whistle is to end the game and send them to the locker rooms to get changed. Phil walks by himself taking his time while Dan is walking with his friends up ahead. He turns around to look for Phil and spots him. He stops walking to wait for him and lets his friends go ahead. Phil reaches him and Dan lightly bumps their shoulders in greeting and they start walking together side by side. Phil doesn’t greet him or talk to him at all.

“Are you mad because my team won?” Dan asks.

Phil looks over at him disbelievingly. “No! I’m upset because you tackled me into the ground!”

“That’s how you play the game! Damn, don’t go getting mad at me about it.” He says.

“You kept tackling me on purpose!” Phil yells at him and Dan rolls his eyes.

“I know, but you got me back that last time. I think you liked trying to get back at me.” He says.

“You’re ridiculous.” Phil tells him.

Dan stops walking and stands firmly with his feet apart and crouching a bit. Phil stops walking to look over at him wondering what he’s doing. “Go ahead, tackle me and get even! I’m ready!”

Phil stares at him like he’s gone crazy. “I am not tackling you.”

“Go ahead, I don’t mind.”

“No.”

“Do it! It’ll be fun. I dare you.”

Phil thinks to try it but he doesn’t have any energy in him to actually be able to knock Dan over so it’d be a really pathetic attempt.

“C’mon, I know you want to!”

“I’m tired. I don’t have any energy left.”

“Just pump yourself up and do a running start for some momentum and come at me.” Dan suggest and Phil gives in. He backs up far, jumps in place a little and then charges at him until they collide. Dan wraps his arms around Phil catching him as he gets the wind knocked out of him. Dan falls back with an oof and with Phil on top of him. They catch their breath back from the fall and then go into hysterics. Phil rolls off him and Dan lets go as they both lay laughing on the ground.

“That was the worst tackle ever.” Dan manages to say between laughs.

“Shut up. We’re never talking about this again.” Phil barely says still out of breath.

Phil is the first to get up and Dan refuses to move once again. “Get up or I’ll drag you.” He warns.

“Drag me then! I don’t care.” Dan says looking up at him. Phil grabs a leg and pulls and Dan goes into another laughing fit. Phil looks around and realizes they are the only two idiots left outside. He stops trying to pull him and throws his leg back down.

“Ow! That hurt!” Dan complains.

“We’re late for lunch! You can stay there for all I care.” He tells the boy on the ground and then starts quickly walking back to the building without him.

“Wait!” Dan calls from where he lays. “Don’t leave me!”

“Bye!” Phil calls back at him and Dan manages to get up.

“Wait up! I’m coming!” Dan shouts after him.

Phil gets to the locker room first to see its empty and he knows his friends must be at their lunch table already wondering where he is. Dan walks in after him a second later. “Thanks for waiting for me.” He says sarcastically.

They both walk over to their lockers which are only a few doors apart. Phil reaches for his phone first to check it and then starts to type a message to let his friends know he’s still alive and hasn’t been beaten to a pulp by a school bully or something.

“What are you doing?” Dan ask curiously as he pulls his clothes out of his locker.

Phil looks up at him. “I’m just texting PJ to tell him I’m just late for lunch.” He says.

“What for? So they don’t think you’ve been abducted back to your home planet, space boy?” Dan says jokingly and gives him a friendly smile.

Phil laughs. “Yup, that’s it exactly.”

Dan drops his shorts down and Phil automatically looks up at the ceiling. Dan starts getting dressed into his regular clothes right in front of him and Phil turns back to his locker to put his phone away. He gets out his own clothes and hesitantly starts getting changed into them. He feels kind of lame and doesn’t know why. It just feels weird getting dressed beside each other.

Dan finishes and swings his backpack over his shoulder then looks at Phil and waits for him to finish getting dressed. “Oh my gosh why are you moving so slowly?” Dan complains.

“You don’t have to wait!” He says as he finishes buckling his belt.

Phil feels flustered but knows there is no reason to since they’re both guys so he shouldn’t feel embarrassed. He starts putting on his shirt over his head but it gets rolled up at the front. He feels a warm hand on his chest and he flinches.

“Hurry up!” He hears Dan say as he grabs the front of his shirt where it’s caught and helps pull it down over his chest.

“Thanks,” Phil mutters as he adjusts the hem of his shirt feeling his face going red. He grabs his backpack and closes the door to his locker.

“Finally!” Dan says as he grabs Phil’s wrist and pulls him along out of the locker room to get to lunch.

When they get to the cafeteria the lunch line is really short but that doesn’t stop Dan from heading straight to the front of the line dragging Phil behind him. They cut in front of an underclassmen who doesn’t say anything about it when he sees its Dan.

“I really didn’t mind waiting in line.” Phil tells him and Dan excuses their rude behavior as a privilege of seniority. Phil mouths sorry to the freshmen they cut in front of before they walk away with their lunches.

“I guess I’ll go sit down with my friends now so I’ll see you after school.” Phil tells Dan.

“Oh, alright. See you later.” Dan replies and they both go their separate ways.

Phil sees his friends watching him as he approaches the table. He can tell for sure they saw him enter with Dan by the bewildered looks on their faces.

“Please don’t ask. I still haven’t been able to wrap my own head around it myself. I’ll tell you about it later.” Phil tells them before he even sits down. They both nod and don’t push it and so they all talk about other things instead.

The first half of the day had been a whirlwind. Dan’s rude behavior shouldn’t surprise Phil at this point but it did disappoint Phil this morning. They talked like friends last night but then this morning Dan acted horrible to him. Phil didn’t mind some of his teasing because that’s the way Dan liked to joke but he had some hostility behind it today. Of course Dan continued to annoy him during P.E. and afterwards but it was still friendlier than earlier in the day. Phil loved when Dan acted nice to him. He was happy when Dan finally called him yesterday and they talked till late in the night. He liked Dan ruffling his hair a bit playfully, he liked Dan waiting for him sometimes and wanting to walk beside him. Although his behavior was so confusing sometimes for Phil to understand it, he was willing to put up with it because the good parts of their friendship made it worth it. Then there was Phil’s own strange feelings in the locker room he still needed to confront but he decided to leave those thoughts for another time.

The rest of the day ticks by slowly. He doesn’t get to talk to Dan in their classes during the second half of the day but he does get to talk with Susan in his last class period. He looks forward to seeing Dan afterschool and says a quick goodbye to Susan when the last bell rings. He quickly makes his way through the halls and spots Dan leaning near the staircase. Dan smiles when he sees him and it’s such a nice smile that for a moment Phil loses his breath for a second and it feels just like when he got his breath knocked out of him when he got tackled.

They greet each other and start down the stairs and head for the exit doors among the crowd of students who are rushing out in the same direction. Phil feels someone pull him by the back of the shirt.

“Move out the way, loser.” A boy named Collin tells Phil, who was one of the dickheads at their school. Dan swats his arm away. “Let go, asshole! Don’t fucking touch him.” He says aggressively.

Collin looks angrily at Dan. “What the fuck is it to you? You call him names all the time!”

“Listen, bitch.” Dan says seriously. “Only I get to call him names and push him around! Go mess with somebody else!” Dan tells him and Phil wants to get swallowed up by the earth rather than be there in that second.

“Stupid ass bastard.” Collin mutters as he walks away from them throwing up the middle finger.

“Shove it up your mother’s ass!” Dan yells at him.

Phil wants to disappear but he’s amused at the same time and can’t help but to laugh at Dan’s use of colorful language. “Thanks, I guess.” Phil mumbles to him.

“I hate all these people.” Is all Dan has to say and he grabs Phil’s wrist and pulls him along impatiently through the crowd and out the exit doors and doesn’t let go of him till they made their way out of the throng of people.

They head to Phil’s house like they agreed earlier that day. When they arrive Phil leads them up to his room and Dan instantly makes himself at home by dropping his backpack on the floor as soon as walks in through the door and jumps on Phil’s bed to lay down. He grabs something from the nearby bookshelf to look at. Phil heads over to his desktop to turn it on and sits down. The project is due this Friday and so he decides that today for sure they’ll get some work done even if he has to do it by himself while Dan slacks off.

“What are you doing?” Dan asks.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m working on our project.”

“You can do it tomorrow. We should do something fun today since we haven’t hanged out since Friday.” Dan says sitting up to grab something else from the shelf to look at and goes for a plushy toy.

“I can’t tomorrow. I got plans with Chris and PJ.” Phil says and Dan lets out a long sigh.

“You hang out with them a lot.” Dan complains as he fiddles with the toy in his hands.

Phil looks over his shoulder at him. “Yeah, well that’s cause they’re my friends.” He sees Dan looking down at the toy in his hand solemnly. “I hang out a lot with you because you’re my friend too.” He decides to add. Dan keeps his head down but Phil can see him smiling now.

“I mean at least were friends when you feel like it.” Phil mutters remembering this morning.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Dan asks looking up at him finally.

“You’re only nice to me when you want to be and then sometimes you go back to thinking of me as just some loser and treating me like dirt.” He says looking away from the other boy and Dan stays quiet for a while.

“Look Phil,” Dan finally says. “Sometimes I wish so badly I could go back in time and change a lot of what I’ve said and did to you because it was mostly petty behavior. Every stupid thing I said to you was complete bullshit so don’t believe any of it. You’re not a loser or an idiot or whatever. I wish I could go back and change myself but not for a second would I change a thing about you. You’re perfect in every way.”

Phil turns five different shades of red before he can even think up anything to say. “Yeah, alright. Shut up already.” Phil says trying to shut down this whole awkward conversation.

“I guess that still doesn’t change anything does it?” Dan asks dejected. “Even if you do forgive me you’d probably still pick your friends over me since they’re more likable.”

Phil sighs. “I do forgive you and no I’m not always going to choose them over you. Actually, I guess I can forget about hanging out with them tomorrow so we can hang out together instead to get more stuff done for the project but also have some fun while doing it.”

“Really?” Dan asks eagerly and quickly gets up to move closer to where Phil is sat at the computer. “Alright, fine. Let’s start right now! We can get this shit done and then we can watch some anime!” He says excitedly.

Phil realizes it’s probably going to be another week of hanging out with Dan everyday but he doesn’t mind at all because he’s all too content to have a smiling Dan next to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 **A/N:** I know I said the story would get lovey-dovey by this chapter but it’ll be in the next chapter instead. Sorry! Please don’t hate me. The next chapter might take me even longer to get to bc I need to stop procrastinating on things in my life. Sigh.

Also, I don’t know shit about football and that whole scene was complete bull shit but can you imagine real life Dan and Phil attempting to play football? It’d be hilarious but also I’d be so scared for them Lol.

Most importantly, thanks to all the nice comments because that’s the only thing motivating me to muster up some enthusiasm to keep writing and not give into complete laziness.


	7. Chapter 7

 

 

Phil meets up with Dan every day after school to work on the project leading up to the due date on Friday. They focus on their work in the afternoon and spend time together afterwards in the evening either watching a show, a movie or playing video games. Only once did they adventure out of the house together to get a bite to eat and that’s when Phil realized something. That they might be different with Dan’s sarcastic nature and Phil’s more considerate one, but they were both still really similar. Not only similar in the shows they enjoy watching but in their complete incompetence at interacting with other people in the outside world. Phil thought it was hilarious and beautiful at the same time how alike and different they both were. Literally like two sides of the same coin.

The last night before the projects due is a hard one. They hauled ass preparing for the presentation. There was no time for goofing off that night. It was especially hard for Dan who was a horrible procrastinator and wanted to escape from doing any work till the very last minute. If it was up to him, they wouldn’t have started on anything till 2am. Luckily he had Phil around to shut down any excuse to procrastinate on it just a little longer.

The next day they presented their project together in class. They did an amazing job of splitting all the talking evenly between themselves much to everyone’s surprise in the class. They had such an easy going dynamic with one another that it was almost entertaining to watch them which no one had expected from these two boys who they thought were complete opposites. Although the project was over now, somehow Phil still found Dan over at his house after school that day and they played video games to their hearts content with no project to worry about.

Phil thought that having Dan over was a lot like a Q&A session because he was always curious of things about Phil. He didn’t mind it much though because it meant it was ok to ask questions back at Dan since Phil was just as curious about his life too. That night Dan asks him about his college plans while they had paused from playing video games to snack.

“What are you going to study?”

“I don’t know. Maybe video editing.”

Dan stared at him blankly.

“It’s when you…” Phil began to explain.

“I know what it is, but why? What do you want to do exactly?”

Phil shrugged. “I want to work on movies, maybe with special effects.”

“Are you good with computers and stuff?”

“Not exactly but I have a little bit of experience doing video editing.”

“Really? How?” He asked but Phil didn’t feel like explaining just yet.

“Nothing interesting. What about you? What do you want to study?”

“I really wish I could do acting but I guess that’s not the best idea.”

Phil is blown away by the answer. “That’s an amazing idea! Wow, so you want to be an actor?

“Like I said, I wish I could but it’s not a very likely thing to happen. So I’m still thinking about what else I could possibly do with my life.”

“Have you’ve ever acted in any school plays?”

“Twice. I had theatre lessons when I was younger too.”

“Huh,” Phil says with a considering look on his face. “You know Chris is really into acting too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but he’s more into comedic acting and PJ wants to do directing, he’s like really passionate about it.”

 “So your friends like acting and directing and you like video editing?”

“Yeah, actually we like filming these movies together. They’re like short films.” Phil decides to tell him about their hobby and Dan looks engrossed so Phil feels encouraged to keep talking. “That’s actually what we were doing Saturday.” He admits. “We could always use more characters in them other than just us three. Maybe you could help us out and be in one?” He asks hopefully.

“Yes! That sounds incredible! I want to join too!” Dan says excitedly.

Phil couldn’t stop smiling because he was just so happy Dan didn’t make fun of him about the whole thing. Instead it turned out to be a passion of his and just another shared interest between them. They make plans to meet up at Phil’s house again the next day.

“So, want to get back to the game?” Dan asks and Phil picks up his controller in answer. They resume the game and Dan’s aggression seeps out a bit.

He points at something on the screen. “L1! That’s you for number one loser!”

“That was unnecessary.” Phil says looking offended.

“Sorry.” Dan says without animosity in his voice this time.  

They continue playing for a long time and Dan ends up staying late. It’s a bit past 1am when Dan realizes he should probably head home.

“Do you just want to stay over? I mean since you’re just going to end up back over here anyways?” Phil offers.

Dan smiles slyly. “Trying to get me into your bed, Lester?”

“You wish, Howell. You can sleep on the floor.” Phil tells him. He grabs the pillow Dan is leaning on and throws it on the carpet below.

Dan stares down at where the pillow has landed on the carpet below and then looks back up at him. “You are cold hearted, Phil Lester.”

“Want to play one more round?” Phil suggest and they end of playing for a while longer until their reaction times are so slow that it keeps causing both of them to lose so they finally decide to lie down in bed and go to sleep. Since they’re both really tired they fall asleep instantly and have no time to feel weird about sharing a bed with each other for a night.

In the morning Phil is the first to wake up. He is laying on his side with his back to Dan but he feels something warm behind him. He peaks over his shoulder to see Dan resting his forehead in between Phil’s shoulder blades and is holding on to him with one hand fisted into the back of his shirt. Phil wonders if this counts as cuddling since they’re not exactly spooning or anything and Dan’s barely touching him. Phil very gently ungrasps Dan’s hand from his shirt and he gets out of bed to use the bathroom. He comes back to the room to see Dan is still asleep and has taken up most of the bed by half lying on Phil’s side with his legs taking up the other side. Phil is a bit annoyed because he’s still tired but Dan has left no room for him to lay down properly. He’s just about to shove the other boy out of the way so he can climb back into bed when he thinks to check the time. He realizes they don’t have much time to get ready before Chris and PJ arrive.

“Dan! Dan! Dan!” He shakes his shoulder urgently. Dan’s eyes flash open and he lifts his head of the bed to look around remembering where he is then looks at Phil confused. “What? What’s wrong?”

Phil laughs at his scared expression. “Chris and PJ are almost here. You have to get out of bed.”

Dan drops his head back down on to the bed, closes his eyes again and groans in annoyance.

“C’mon! You have to get showered it you want to look good on camera.”

Dan opens his eyes and looks down at what he’s wearing. “Is it weird that I’ll be wearing the same clothes I wore to school yesterday?”

Phil hasn’t thought that far ahead. “I really don’t think they would even notice since you wear black every day.” He teases him. He’ll need to go get some towels and a new toothbrush from the hallway closet for Dan. “You can borrow some of my clothes since we’re like the same height. Be right back.”

Phil goes out to the hallway to get the stuff from the closet and notices his parents are up because he can smell food and hears noise coming from downstairs. He returns back to his room to see Dan has gotten out of bed and is looking through Phil’s closet.

“You have some cool shirts.” He tells Phil. “But do you have anything in black?”

“Not really. Black makes me look too pale.” He says as he puts the towels and toothbrush on the bed and goes to his drawers to grab a pair of socks and underwear before Dan goes looking around there himself. He picks a Sonic the hedgehog themed underwear and some mismatched socks to give Dan and places it on the bed with the other stuff.

Dan looks over at Phil and glances thoughtfully at the clothes he’s wearing, the same clothes Phil wore yesterday that he fell asleep in. “I bet you’d look hot in all black.”

Phil rolls his eyes at him. “Here’s some towels, a new tooth brush and some under clothes for you. You can use my deodorant that’s in the bathroom too. I’ll use the shower downstairs. My mom made breakfast so just meet me downstairs when you’re done and we can eat something before they get here.”

Dan walks over to the pile on the bed and picks up the underwear. “These are amazing! I’m keeping these!” He admits and then looks at the socks. “Phil, these don’t even match!” He shames him.

Phil shrugs. “Sorry. I can never find a matching set so my socks never match.

“Wow.” Dan shakes his head at him.

“Welcome to my life.” Phil tells him.

“You’re such a flop.” Dan says.

Phil gathers some fresh clothes for himself and heads to the door.

“Wait! Can I burrow your hair straightener?” Dan asks

“Sure, it’s right there.” Phil says pointing to it. He probably won’t have time to use it after Dan to straighten some bits in his hair. Phil heads downstairs and gives his parents a heads up that Dan is coming down for breakfast because he stayed over last night. Then he goes to take his shower in the downstairs bathroom. He rushes to get ready and sits down at the kitchen table before Dan. He witnesses Dan coming down the stairs while trying to smoot down his hair with one hand before instantly turning awkward at seeing Phil’s parent waiting to greet him. Phil thinks he looks quite attractive and adorable then realizes he’s literally checking out the other boy and reprimands himself for it.

When Phil’s friends come over he introduces Dan and explains that he will be joining them today to film. Chris and PJ are weirded out to have Dan there but PJ accepts him anyways. The only complaint comes from Chris who has never had competition to play the lead before and so he bickers with Dan over them both wanting to play the same character. The decision comes down to PJ since he’s the director of the whole thing. He decides to hold an audition for the part. They go outside to the backyard to film and both boys have a turn saying the lines. Afterwards, PJ steps away pulling Phil with him so he can ask him for a second opinion.

“What do you think?”

“I think they can both play the character well.”

“Yeah me too but I kind of wrote the character with Chris in mind.”

“Of course you did. That’s because Chris always plays the main character. Maybe let Dan have this turn?”

They look over to where Chris and Dan are standing. They’re both eyeing the director and film editor suspiciously. Chris looks more upset with his arms crossed and an impatient expression.

PJ looks back at Phil. “Are you sure you’re not being bias for your new friend?”

“Are you sure that you’re not being bias for yours?” Phil challenges him back.

PJ thinks for a second and sighs. They walk back over to where the actors are standing. “Dan gets the lead.” PJ announces. Dan smiles brightly and Chris’s jaw drops in astonishment.

“What?! Why??” He splutters and PJ rolls his eyes at him. “Fine! I want to play the villain instead!”

PJ looks at him incredulously. “There is no villain!”

“So write one in to the script then, PJ.” He says huffily.

“No! That would make no sense to the story!” PJ argues.

“Then change the story!”

“Get over it, Chris.” PJ tells him and walks over to his video camera to get on with it.

Phil feels a little guilty for upsetting the balance but thinks they’ll be okay and he walks over to Dan prioritizing that he feels comfortable. He bumps shoulders with him in acknowledgement but they don’t get much of a chance to talk before PJ is directing them where to stand.

After they finish filming outside they go inside and film all around Phil’s house. Since Dan got the lead PJ has given away his role to Chris so he gets to stay behind the camera instead. This time around Phil barely has any lines in the story PJ has written because he knows Phil stinks at line delivery but Phil is more than happy to leave all the skilled acting for the two aspiring actors. He’s content to just stand there and emphasize what’s happening by reacting to whatever Dan’s and Chris’s characters are saying. PJ is very nitpicky about every little thing and now that he gets to handle the camera he pauses a lot to complain until he gets it his way. Dan is in the middle of delivering his lines when PJ cuts him off. 

“Wait! Dan, you’re standing too close to Phil! You’re practically leaning on him and that doesn’t make sense to the scene! Step aside a bit, please.” PJ says without looking away from his camera screen.

“Right, sorry.” Dan says blushing as he takes a step away from Phil.

“Chris, your hair is messed up and it makes you look a bit deranged. Also, Phil you suck.”

“What? Why?” Phil says taken aback. “I thought I was doing well?”

“You didn’t say your line seriously enough. You just sounded really awkward. Alright, start over everyone!”

They begin again only to get interrupted a minute later. “Phil, never mind. Let’s just drop that line. It really wasn’t necessary anyways. Chris, your timing was horrible and Dan stop glancing at Phil so much. Alright, one more time!” The actors grumble at their bossy director/cameraman and so PJ tells them to take a five minute break so then can get their shit together. PJ walks away as Chris follows behind him complaining to him and Dan returns back to Phil’s side.

After they finish filming, they watch back the footage while they chat and Phil orders pizzas for the four of them. Dan doesn’t talk much although he manages to make them laugh a few times but mostly refrains from trying to socialize. The three of them do most of the talking while Dan let’s Phil keep up most of the conversation on their behalf. When Chris and PJ get up to refill ice in their drinks, Phil feels Dan gently touch his arm to call for his attention.

“Are you okay with me being around your friends?” Dan asks.

“Of course,” Phil clutches his friend’s shoulder in comfort. “You know they like you, right? I think we’re a lot alike, so if they like me they’ll love having you around. You should hang out with us more often, I mean if you want too.”

“I’d love to as long you want me around.” Dan says smiling.

Phil’s friends return to see them so close together that one is practically sitting in the other’s lap but they decide not to mention it. At this point in the evening Phil would be editing the video together while he talked with his friends but PJ and Chris decide to head home early so he spends it alone with Dan instead.

They decide to put on a scary movie so they store away the leftovers, make some popcorn and head upstairs to climb into bed and watch it together. It’s a story about supernatural entities and they start out quite brave watching it but as the movie goes on they pull the blanket over themselves for comfort and cling to each other during the terrifying moments without much embarrassment because there is no one around to judge them. When the horrendous movie comes to an end they put on a Disney movie to try and erase the trauma they just experienced. They lean into each other’s side quietly watching and relaxing. Phil feels Dan’s hair nuzzle into his neck when he tiredly rest his head on Phil’s shoulder but Phil doesn’t mind and he responds by resting his head on top of Dan’s just like the other time. When the movie comes to an end Phil pulls away first and sends Dan home because he knows if they put a third film on they’ll doze off and stay asleep completely. He walks Dan downstairs and they say their goodbyes and before leaving Dan hugs him tightly which feels nice so Phil hugs him back just as ardently.

After he leaves, Phil goes back upstairs and lies down in his bed but then realizes he’s no longer tired. When he tries to close his eyes he sees soft brown hair and warm brown eyes with smooth skin, a long neck and a bright smile. He can still feel Dan’s presence and the sound of his voice and laughter is still ringing in his ears. He opens his eyes again not sleepy at all and just lays there thinking back to everything they said and did today. Suddenly Phil feels quite lonely and he’s missing the other boy’s company. Out of curiosity Phil turns his head to sniff his shirt wondering if Dan’s scent stayed on him from when he leaned his head on Phil’s shoulder for so long. Then he remembers Dan probably smells like him after borrowing his clothes today. He tries to remember what Dan’s usual cologne scent smells like then realizes that was a very strange thing to think about and he lets the thought go.

He had spent little time by himself lately to be alone with his own thoughts. Now that he was alone all his thoughts were just about Dan. Then there’s the incident in the locker room that comes to mind. Phil had yet to confront that memory. When Dan undressed why had he felt so embarrassed to be next to him in that moment? He had to look away as if he had something to feel ashamed and guilty about if he stared. His mind conjures up images of Dan and all his nice features like his smooth skin and bright smile. Phil thrashes around in bed trying to forget these thoughts. Thinking about Dan’s features stirred up emotions in him that Phil had only experienced when thinking about a girl he liked. Phil is scared to admit to himself that maybe he thought Dan was attractive.

Phil closes his eyes again and is concentrating hard on falling asleep and not thinking about Dan when he senses his phone buzzing with a new text. He squints at the bright screen and is ecstatic to see it’s from the person he was just thinking about and Phil replies back instantly.

_Just got home and I literally ran to my room_

                _why running?_

_legit scared that a demon is hiding somewhere in a dark corner in my house_

_haha silly dan_

_why the f did u make me watch that movie phil_

_im so sorry (not really)_

_fuck now I cant stop thinking its in my room somewhere watching me_

_it probably is_

_its your fault I cant go to sleep_

Phil laughs to himself at the irony of that statement. He wants to reply back _same_ because Dan’s the reason he can’t fall asleep either but Phil isn’t about to admit that to him.

_its not my fault you’re a scaredy cat_

_are u not even phased by that movie at all??_

_No I love scary movies the adrenaline from them is the best_

_U sadist_

_dont worry I promise if it takes you I’ll kill the demon to avenge you_

_what good does that do me if im already dead??_

_its the thought that counts! take it or leave it_

_thanks I guess_

_Fucj_

_whats wrong?_

_Dan??_

_A BIRD LITERALLY JUST FLEW INTO MY WINDOW AND SCARED THE HECK OUT OF ME_

_I THINK I JUST SHAT MYSELF_

Phil lost it at that last message and started laughing so hard he lost the grip on his phone and it slipped out of his hands. He tried quieting himself to not wake up his family and searched for his phone on the floor.

_FUCKING BIRD_

_MY HEART IS STILL RACING_

_AHAHAHAHA XD_

_I THINK IM HAVING HEART PALPATATIONS_

_shout out to that bird! He’s my bffl_

_i wish I couldve seen your face_

_i still cant stop laughing tbh_

_FUCK OFF YOU AND YOUR BIRF_

_birf_

_FUCK OFF_

_Lol_

They text back and forth about Dan’s fear of the supernatural and his new hatred for birds till their conversation ends when they both feel delirious with a need to sleep.

Late Sunday morning Phil wakes up feeling groggy but makes himself get out of bed anyways. He begrudgingly gets a start on all the studying he missed out on during the week. When Dan asks to come over, Phil tells him he really shouldn’t bother and excuses his Sundays as just boring homework days but Dan invites himself over anyways and so he spends it studying with Dan. Actually it’s a very productive day for Phil who does most of the studying while Dan slacks off and just enjoys his free time.

Phil has taken notice of Dan. He catches himself making sneaky side glances at him taking in his features. He likes how nice Dan’s hair is, his smooth long neck, the endearing blushy birthmark in that one corner of his face, those warm brown eyes and that cheeky but radiant smile. He’s gangly with awkward posture but it is somehow charming to Phil. He enjoys his witty humor and the sounds of his voice and laugh.  

Finally, Phil is done with his homework just in time to watch one of their favorite TV shows that evening. Afterwards, Dan convinces Phil to start a new anime series with him. It turns out to be really good and since the episodes are short they binge almost the whole first season while sitting on Phil’s couch till late in the night.

“Did your mom notice you’ve spent most of the weekend over here?” Phil questions as Dan is getting ready to head out.

“Yup.” Dan says as he buttons up his jean jacket.

“And she doesn’t mind you staying over late and stuff?”

“Nope.”  Dan shrugs. “She’s just happy I’ve been getting out of the house more and spending time outside instead of being a couch potato.”

Phil thinks about it for a second as they walk to the door. “But you haven’t been spending time outside. You’ve just spent it inside my house instead of yours.” He contradicts Dan.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t know that. She thinks we’re being guys and playing sports or something but in reality I’m just being a couch potato and watching anime with you instead of alone.” Dan explains. Phil looks at the other boy amused and shakes his head at him.

At the door they reach out to hug each other. The embrace lasts long as they both savor the shared affection of their friendship. Phil discreetly inhales trying to memorize the others scent to cherish it later tonight when he’s missing his friend.

“See ya at school.” Phil says as they let go and Dan steps outside.

“Bye, Phil!” Dan replies as he closes the door behind him.

Phil peeks out the window and watches the brown haired boy walk away. He has an awkward shuffle for someone with such long legs and the rounded shoulders of someone with a habit of bad posture. It’s funny how someone so tall can make themselves seem so small and unintimidating which makes Phil smile. Dan might be sarcastic and annoying but on the inside he was soft and Phil couldn’t get over how adorable he could be sometimes.

He backs away from the window trying to stop thinking about the other boy. He heads back upstairs and decides to watch a couple more episodes of the anime they were watching earlier before he goes to sleep. As exciting and captivating as the series is, it doesn’t prove to be the greatest of distractions as Phil thought it would be. He is still left feeling lonely and missing Dan. He takes a picture of the title sequence of the next episode he’s about to begin and sends it to Dan to let him know what he’s doing. His phone dings a second later with a picture of Dan watching the previous episode.

_Same_

                _I couldn’t resist! there is only 6 episodes left!_

_Wait! Let me catch up and we can start the next one together_

_Alright_

Phil pauses the episode and leans back in his bed awaiting happily for Dan to text him back. He is so satisfied with today and he’s glad Dan came over again even though Phil was being boring with his homework. It was nice to know Dan still wanted to be in his company anyways. His mind begins to conjure up memories of Dan and the dimples that appeared when he smiled. Although he tries to stop thinking about it his mind still floods with thoughts and images of Dan. Phil catches himself calling Dan cute which scares him a bit.

About twenty minutes later Dan calls him and Phil eagerly answers on the second ring. They watch the last episodes together as they talk. When the series comes to an end they stay on the phone for a while longer. Phil knows its late and they should hang up and go to sleep because they are going to be miserably tired at school tomorrow but he is just filled with so much energy and he just wants to soak up as much time with Dan as he can. When he hears Dan yawn over the phone he feels guilty for not being the responsible one to end the call earlier on so that way Dan could get his sleep.

“I guess I better let you go now so you can go to sleep,” Phil says.

“No! I’m not even tired.” Dan says eagerly but yawns again a second later. “Just stay up talking to me. Please, Phil.”

Phil lets out a hum in satisfaction that Dan wants to stay up together just as much as him. “I know your tired, you liar.” He glances at the clock. “It’s past four in the morning. I’ll see you like in four hours at school.”

“No.” Dan says but his voice sounds weary.

“We both need sleep and I’m tired too.” Phil lies although he knows he feels super alert right now listening to the sound of Dan’s voice.

“Wait! I forgot to ask. Did you edit what we filmed Saturday yet?” Dan suddenly asks.

“No, I haven’t had time.” Phil is distracted by the question. Obviously he hasn’t had time since he had spent most of his time with Dan since then. Of course Dan should know since he’d been beside him most of the day.

“I mean I guess I would’ve by now if you hadn’t gotten me into this anime series then kept me awake till 4am.”

“I wish I had stayed over so then I could poke you endlessly so you couldn’t fall asleep and force you to stay talking to me.” Dan admits.

“That sounds horribly evil. Now go to sleep.”

“Wait! One more question!” Dan says sounding a bit more awake.

“Yeah?”

“So, um…did you finish your homework? Learn anything new? Any interesting facts you’d like to share?” He asked.

“Dan! I know what you’re doing. Now you’re just trying to prolong this conversation. Since when have you cared about my homework?” Phil questions.

“Sure I care! Now answer the question.” Dan says in an effort to keep him talking.

“Goodnight, Dan.” Phil says sternly.

“Fine, I guess.” Dan grumbles. “Good night, dork.”

Phil snorts at the overused name Dan favors calling him.

“You’re the dork of my heart.” Dan says sounding a bit drowsy.

“Yeah, alright.” Phil replies. He feels his face turning red at the affectionate words. “See ya in a few hours, ok?”

“Ok,” Dan answers sleepily.

“Bye,” Phil tells him and finally hangs up feeling a bit bad. He wishes it was still the weekend and they could stay up talking to Dan as long as they want to.

Phil really isn’t tired and just lays in bed staring at the ceiling. He’s thrilled Dan has chosen him as a friend. He’s happy how Dan likes him enough to want to spend time with him just as much as Phil wants to spend it with Dan. He thinks about when they casually lean into each other and how he wishes he were here to do that right now. He finds himself thinking about Dan’s complete adorableness again and his mind starts to conjure up fantasies of Phil leaning in to place gentle kisses on Dan’s face. Phil wants to blame it on the lack of sleep for thinking that way of his friend but he really can’t. Maybe he has a slight crush on Dan? Is it possible to have a crush on a guy if he has only ever had crushes on girls? Maybe it’s just all the time he’s been spending with Dan.

He’s not completely convinced yet that he’s gay or bi. It might just be one crush. Phil’s never had a problem with the thought of same sex love. He would openly encourage anyone to love who they want. He just never thought it would apply to him. He tells himself everything is ok even if his sexuality has changed it’s all alright. When he starts thinking about having to explain it to the other people in his life is when he starts to panic. How the fuck is he supposed to explain that to his family and friends? Phil decides he’ll keep these thoughts to himself until he’s less confused. Wouldn’t it be stupid to have a crush on a guy who use to bully you? Although Phil doesn’t hold it against Dan and he’s forgiven him. They are good friends now so he shouldn’t ruin it by having feelings for the guy. He shudders at the thought of Dan ever finding out. He thinks back to all the flirtatious comments Dan has thrown at him and reminds himself that he was probably just playing around. He hasn’t said anything like that in a while since they’ve become closer. He can’t recall ever seeing Dan dating any girls but he’s pretty sure Dan is straight. So Phil decides not to over complicate his life and repress his feelings for the other boy.

**A/N:** Sorry I’m so late to update since the last chapter. I already have the next one written I just need to read it over. The thing is I feel the need to edit and change the wording of every sentence when I read over my own writing because I’m so hesitant about everything. So, hopefully soon that will be posted.

Also, did you recognize the “L1! That’s you for number one loser!” line from the last Undertale video? Lol I realized it could fit well here.


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

 

Phil wakes up really late the next morning and doesn’t have much time to get ready. He quickly brushes his teeth, changes into fresh clothes and grabs his backpack as he rushes to get to school on time. His hair is still in quiff formation and he didn’t have time to put in his contact lenses so he’s wearing his glasses today. Phil makes it in to class a minute before the tardy bell but Dan comes in ten minutes after. Phil smiles at the sight of him with his hair a bit still in curls. The teacher shames him as he makes his way to his seat but he looks too exhausted to really care. He eyes glance upward and he slows down when he sees Phil.

“What?” Phil asks.

“Nothing.” He says dismissively and continues to his seat. “You look good today.” He mumbles as he passes Phil by.

Phil blushes instantly as Dan takes his seat behind him. They’re uncharacteristically quiet during their first class because they’re both having a hard time staying awake. Later when the bell rings signaling the end of first period, they silently walk the hallways together like zombies. Dan sticks close to Phil’s side as he walks him to his next class. Phil lets out a suffering groan at the thought of it being a Monday.

Dan looks over at him concerned. “What’s wrong with you?”

“We have gym today!” Phil complains throwing his head back in anguish at that fact and Dan gives him a small smile.

“Well, at least we have it together.” Dan says optimistically.

Phil look at him thinking back to when they hated each other. Dan use to be one of the reasons he hated Monday PE sessions but now he looked at the brown haired boy in a different light seeing him as one of the positive things about his day.

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess that does make it better.” Phil says smiling back at him.

Dan leans in to wrap his arms around Phil in a quick hug. “I’ll see you later in the locker rooms. Bye, Phil!” He says letting go and walking away. Phil is a bit taken aback by the hug. It went by too quick for him to really enjoy it.

He walks into his class and sits next to Chris who greets him. They don’t talk much because Phil dozes off a few times during class and would have gotten caught by their teacher if it wasn’t for Chris who elbowed him awake before she looked their way. He asks why Phil is so tired and Phil explains he stayed up late watching an anime series. Chris makes a face at the mention of Dan’s name and calls him a scene stealer which makes Phil laugh.

After class ends, Phil walks slowly to the locker rooms. Not because he’s tired from a lack of sleep but because he really doesn’t want to go to gym class.

When he walks in to the locker room he hears Dan calls his name and waves him over.  Phil notices he’s already dressed in his gym clothes like some of the other students who are already exiting out of the locker room. He walks over to their lockers to gets his own clothes out.

“What took you so long?” Dan asks.

“I usually put off things I’m not looking forward to.” Phil confesses in a tired voice as he struggles with the lock.

“You literally dragged your feet getting here didn’t you? Wow, you really must hate this class.”

“Balance, coordination, and agility is everything I suck at. I freaking despise this class with a passion.” He clarifies to Dan as he finally manages to yank the locker door open.

“Aw, it’s ok. I’m here, Phil. I’ll be on your side.” Dan says as he leans against his own locker. Phil pulls out his gym clothes and is suddenly hyper aware of Dan standing there looking at him so up close. Is he going to wait there while Phil changes his clothes? Would it be weird for Phil to excuse himself to the restrooms to change or ask Dan to leave? It’s not like they haven’t shared this locker room before to change clothes along with everybody else. Phil couldn’t pinpoint why exactly changing in front of Dan made him so anxious. Maybe he did have a crush on him and this whole situation made him feel insecure. Or what if Dan starts making those stupid flirty comments of his while Phil is changing? He would die of embarrassment. He decided to just keep up a conversation which would hopefully normalized the situation for him.

“So, do you know what form of exercise torture the P.E. instructor has in store for us today?” Phil asks as he drops his jeans and starts to put on his basketball shorts.

“It’s a free day.” Dan tells him.

“Oh that’s great! Then it’s kind of like a slack of day right?” Phil says as he pulls his shirt off over his head. “I can pick any sport and get away with barely trying. What sport are you going to do?” He starts putting on his fresh gym t-shirt and momentarily side glances at Dan who is just staring down at Phil’s shoes but then he raises his gaze to his chest for a second before looking up at Phil’s face as he speaks.

“I thought maybe we could try playing basketball together. I mean since we’re both really tall I don’t think you’d suck at it that much.”

“Alright, if you say so. Let’s try basketball I guess.” Phil says as he shoves his regular clothes inside before closing his locker door shut then finally turns to look at Dan who is just staring at Phil’s t-shirt. Phil looks down at what he’s wearing wondering what’s wrong.

“You look good in red.” Dan points out.

“Oh, thanks.” Phil glances at Dan’s clothes looking for something to return the compliment with but realizes he’s just wearing all black as always. Phil thinks about all of the things he’s been noticing about Dan lately that he likes and decides to just choose one of those to share.

“You have a nice smile.” Phil says out loud. Dan’s eyes widen in surprise and Phil can see his cheeks turning pink. “I mean-” Phil rushes to explain, kicking himself internally for picking that to say of all the other possibly more appropriate things he could have said. Slowly a smile starts to spread across Dan’s face.

“You have a bright smile and it’s just really noticeable.” Phil tries to explain.

“Yeah, alright.” Dan snorts.

“What? Was that a weird thing to say?” Phil asks nervously.

“No, it’s really sweet. Thanks.” He tells him while looking down as he fixes his hair.

“Alright.” Phil says rubbing the back of his neck.

“So,” Dan says looking back up at Phil with a sly look. “What else about me do you think is nice?” He asks leaning in closer.

“Nothing at all. That was it.”  Phil says automatically as he backs away from him. “Remind me to never compliment you again. I regret it entirely.”

Dan laughs at him and Phil is a bit put off with him in turn.

“C’mon, let’s go outside.” Dan says as he reaches out to grab Phil's wrist and pulls him along.

They’re almost the last students to step out of the locker rooms because they had been stuck in their own little world. They head to the outdoor basketball courts and play all by themselves for a while. Phil makes an effort this time and is doing pretty good but Dan is eager to win. Phil is reminded that Dan is the more competitive and coordinated one out of the both of them, so Phil gives away the game to Dan most of the time to appease him but still makes it look like he’s trying to win to keep Dan entertained.

“HA! I won!” Dan brags when the coach gives them all a warning to finish up their activities.  Phil throws the basketball at Dan in mock anger but Dan catches it before it hits his chest with the biggest grin on his face because of his victory.

Over Dan’s shoulder, Phil spots Dan’s friends in the distance walking back to the gym together acting noisy. He’s suddenly tentative about running into them later with Dan because he’s unsure how he would fit in to that interaction. He decides to try waiting it out, so without saying anything he walks over to a patch of grass and sits down and of course Dan follows behind and joins him. Phil lays back in the grass to look up at the sky and Dan copies him. Phil admits to himself that he loves having Dan around and wishes he could keep Dan all to himself but at some point Dan will want to make time to hang out with his own friends again and Phil has to confront that he can’t have Dan to himself all the time. They’re only friends and not some committed couple.

He feels Dan shift beside him to look at his face. “Are you still mad I won?”  He asks smugly which only amuses Phil but he tries not to show it. “Yes,” He lies, trying to inflict irritation into his voice.

“I’m sorry that you suck at sports,” Dan tells him sounding sympathetic. “And video games.” He adds thoughtfully.

“Asshole.” Phil says honestly this time.

“Do you hate me now?”

“No.” Phil thinks of course not.

“Then can I come over to your house again?” Dan asks.

“Sure,” Phil says suddenly feeling a little better that Dan is still choosing to spend time with him.

“Okay. Ready to go to lunch?”

“I guess so.” Phil wishes he could avoid getting up and stay there next to Dan a little longer because Dan will probably go sit with his own friends at lunch but he’s still content that he’ll come over later.

Dan is the first to get off the ground while Phil slowly sits up.

“Hurry up, Phil.” Dan says staring down at him. “Here, give me your hands.” He holds out his palms to him. Phil grabs onto him and Dan pulls him up. Phil moves to pull his hands away but Dan stays grasped on to his right hand. He leads them back to the gym while pulling Phil along behind him. Phil wonders if he should protest Dan holding his hand but truthfully he really doesn’t mind it much so he says nothing.

“Stop dragging your feet.” Dan complains. “I thought you only did that when you’re avoiding something. Aren’t you hungry? Does the thought of food not excite you?”

Phil doesn’t bother to answer him. Instead he takes notice that there is no one left outside. Dan drops his hand when they enter the gymnasium and Phil sees their classmates are already exiting through the opposite doors on their way to lunch. They walk into the locker room to see they are some of the last people still here and Phil’s happy they are not completely alone. Dread runs through Phil at the thought of it only being just the two of them alone in the locker rooms getting dressed because it sounds too intimate.

Phil spaces out for a moment there and realizes that instead of approaching their lockers they are both still standing dumbly in front of the door and Dan is just staring at him. Phil turns to him right as Dan looks away to go to his locker and Phil follows behind.

Once again Phil internally battles with his insecurity of getting dressed next to Dan so he keeps his eyes down while he changes his clothes. Somewhere between pulling his shirt on and buckling his belt he feels his hair falling into his eyes. He thinks to fix it after he’s done dressing but Dan beats him to it when he reaches out to run a hand through Phil’s hair.

“I can’t decide if I like your hair better pushed back or in your face.” He says as he smooths it backwards and forwards.

Phil is stunned for a second but remembers they are not alone in this locker room and so he swats Dan’s hand away and leans away from him. Dan pulls his hand out of his hair and lightly touches Phil’s arm apologetically.

“Sorry,” Dan whispers to him. “I guess I just have a hard time not touching you.” He says as he steps back a bit.

Phil ignores his words and avoids looking at Dan as he finishes collecting his things from his locker. Dan is quiet but Phil can feel his eyes on him.

“Ready to go?” Phil asks while putting his backpack on and closing his locker door.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.” Dan answers.

They walk side by side to lunch without talking. As soon as they enter the lunch room, a couple of Dan’s friends come up to greet him so Dan stops to talk to them. Phil decides not to wait because standing there while Dan talks with his friends and hesitating if he should say hello and interact with these people while unsure if they would even acknowledge him is something Phil did not feel like dealing with today. So he quickly decides to abandon the whole awkward situation and walks away. He’s a little bitter and fearful that Dan will return to his friends and maybe even forget about him.

He gets into the lunch line and then sits down with his food at his friends’ table who are happy to see him.

“Hey Phil!” They say in unison.

“Did you finish editing the movie together?” PJ asks.

“Ugh, sorry. I haven’t had the time. I spent the rest of the weekend with Dan and I completely forgot.”

“That’s okay. I really wanted to watch back what we recorded and help put it all together.” PJ tells him.

“Alright,” Phil agrees.

“So what’s up with you and Dan?” He asks.

“Yeah!” Chris shouts at him. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do!”

“Not that there is anything wrong with Dan.” PJ reassures

“Since when did you both become close?” Chris asks curiously.

“We like Dan.” PJ kindly continues.

“The dude is hilarious.” Chris agrees.

“And it’d be great to have another actor in our movies so I can write another character in! Do you think he’ll come over again to join us?” PJ finally asks hopeful.

“Wait.” Chris says affronted. “No one said anything about letting him be in our movies again!”

“And why is he so nice?” PJ asks in disbelief. “I thought he was-”

Both his friends who had barely let him speak a word suddenly shut up and stare down at their food. Just as Phil is about to say something he is interrupted as he sees someone from the corner of his eye walking up to their table.

“Hey guys! Mind if I sit with you today?” Dan asks as he stands beside them. Phil is ecstatic that Dan is here. He’s choosing to sit with Phil and his friends over his usual friends. Phil gauges his friends’ reactions. They only lift their gaze from their trays to stare at Phil.

“Of course!” He answers smiling up at Dan and pulls out the chair beside him. Dan sits next to him across from PJ.

“So Dan, are you coming over again Saturday?” PJ asks.

Chris turns to glare at PJ while Dan looks at Phil as if asking for permission. “Um, I don’t know.”

“You can if you want to.” Phil assures him.

Dan looks back at PJ and agrees to come.

“Great! I’ll write a character for you for this next one.” PJ tells him and Chris looks betrayed.

“I call dibs on the main character!” Chris shouts.

PJ suddenly loses his friendly demeanor to look sternly at Chris. “You’ll be who I tell you to be.”

“Fine, then. I want to be a villain.” Chris says.

“Not this shit again.” PJ rolls his eyes. “There isn’t going to be a villain!”

“Then start writing one in.” Chris tells him and PJ glares like he wants to strangle him.

“It’s okay. Chris can be the main character this time if he wants to be. I won’t care.” Dan says as he picks at his food.

“That’s very kind of you Dan to let me have the lead role. Here, have some chocolate.” Chris says as he slides his unopened package of pudding across the table to him and Dan takes it.

“Thanks, I guess.” He says confused as he looks around at the others sitting at the table.

“Stop! I know what you’re doing. You can’t psychologically condition him into letting you have the lead roles for chocolate.” PJ calls him out.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way either.” Phil says.

“Damn it! Then give me back my pudding, asshole!” Chris says as he reaches for it but Dan pulls it further away.

“Too late.” He tells him and Phil grins at him because he thinks the innocent face Dan is making is adorable. He feels a need to reach out and touch his arm or something but holds back. Phil is coming to terms that he is very much attracted to this boy. He thinks if they were a couple, he’d wrap his arms around Dan and whisper to him how cute he thinks Dan is, especially in that sweater he’s wearing today. Phil shakes his head a bit pushing the fantasy away and just concentrates on finishing his food instead. They talk and joke a while longer till lunch ends and then they have to get up to throw away their trays and head to class.

“Bye, Dan. Bye, Phil.” PJ says as he and Chris take off together.

“Bye losers!” Chris shouts at them as he throws them the finger which Dan returns before Phil tells him to stop and pushes the offending down from being seen.

Dan decides to walk Phil to his next class before heading to his own. Later on in one of their shared classes, Dan sits and talks with Phil until the bell rings signaling that he has to go back to his own assigned seat. In their other shared class, Dan manages to snag a seat next to Phil by trading spots with another student. Which Phil thought was great until he became Dan's source of entertainment during class. Dan wouldn’t stop talking to him and poking him when he thought Phil wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. Phil also became responsible for kicking Dan awake when he began to doze off during the second half of their class.

When the bell rings, Dan walks him to his last class of the day as they chat pleasantly on the way there. If it wasn’t for Dan asking to come over to his house today, Phil would have worried that this might’ve been one of their last shared moments together. The fear is still plaguing him in the back of his mind that Dan would start to hang out with his own friends soon now that their project had ended and they weren’t obligated to hang out any more.

“Well, see ya after school, Phil.” Dan says when they arrive to Phil’s art class confirming that he still wanted to hang out later and that is enough to fill him with hope that Dan would continue to choose him.

“Right, see ya later then.” Phil agrees and before he can open the door Dan reaches out to engulf him in a tight hug. Phil feels even happier than he thought he could be.

After Dan walks away, Phil opens the door to his class. He hears someone call his name as soon he walks in. It’s Susan who is smiling at him so he walks over to the nice girl who is excited to see him and has even saved him a seat. He drops his backpack on the floor without care and sits down next to her still feeling happy after the shared affection of hugging Dan.

“Hey Susan,” He greets her and she begins chatting at him for a long time during class but Phil doesn’t mind much and he spaces out during most of it as he is still stuck in his own little world.

When class ends, Susan tells him goodbye and promises to text him later to finish telling him the rest of her story which Phil says is alright as he quickly packs his things so he can meet up with Dan. Once out the door he rushes to their usual meeting spot where he finds Dan waiting for him already and from there they walk home together. Dan monologues as they walk and Phil listens. He only jumps in to comment when Dan broaches topics that they both enjoy like tv shows and shared tastes in music. At some point Dan falls quiet giving Phil a chance to say something.

“So, did your friends mind you spending gym with me and lunch with us instead?” Phil decides to ask out of curiosity.

“Not really.” Dan answers.

“Do they know you’ve been hanging out with me?” Maybe Dan hadn’t mentioned it to them because he was embarrassed of being friends with Phil now.

“No, but we’re not close anyways. I couldn’t care less what they think about what I do.” Dan admits which is surprising for Phil to hear.

“Don’t you like hanging out with them?” Phil asks.

“Sure, sometimes. Mostly it’s just to have somebody to hang out with at all but I’d much rather hang out with you now. As long as you don’t get annoyed with me I guess.” He says hesitantly.

“I won’t get annoyed of you. Will you going to get annoyed of me after a while?”

“No, I won’t.” Dan says as he turns to look at him. “You’re my favorite person.” He says sincerely as he smiles affectionately at him and Phil can feel himself turning red. He feels emotional and wants to say something back but doesn’t know what to say so he just lightly bumps Dan’s shoulder with his own in some sort of acknowledgement. Dan studies Phil’s face and Phil realizes he’s still expecting him to say something back.

“I think you’re my best friend.” He says shly. Dan beams with that smile that Phil adores. Dan moves to hug him and Phil feels a flutter in his stomach before he jokingly pushes Dan away and they continue walking home. Phil worries this feeling is proof of something. Maybe it’s not just affection for a friend or the physical attraction for a crush he is feeling. Phil thinks he has a very good chance of falling in love with this boy if he’s not careful about it.

Dan had definitely become Phil’s best friend rather quickly. They become even closer as the days pass. Not a day last week had been spent without the other and it’s the beginning of a pattern. They end up going over to each other’s house everyday but mostly Phil goes to Dan’s since his parents work late and they can just hang out and goof off without oversight. Both their families get used to seeing the other boy at their house when they get home from work. Dan becomes a regular addition on Saturdays when they all film together with Phil’s friends and most Sundays are spent with each other.

Dan no longer teases him during their first period but they do get in trouble often for talking to each other during class. Dan joins Phil and his friends every day at lunch. In the classes they share, Dan manages to grab a seat next to Phil when he can get away with it if there’s no assigned seating. When he’s tired or bored, he’s taken to leaning his head on Phil’s shoulder. He doesn’t seem to care who sees and Phil has grown use to the feeling of Dan’s hair nuzzled in his neck.

Phil’s friends think it strange how tied at the hip they are. They literally do sit in each other’s space in close proximity all the time. Phil blames that on Dan since he’s the one who’s always leaning in close. He’s the touchy one that leads to them having these accidental warm and affectionate moments. He always gives Phil these attentive stares. Phil doesn’t mind any of it much though because he’s always craving the other boy’s attention too. When Dan’s not around he wants to know what he’s doing because he’s missing the companionship and is eager to talk to him when he sees him again.

As they’ve grown closer, Phil has also becomes better friends with Susan. They’ve taken to texting each other daily. Phil didn’t have as much in common with her as he does with Dan but he found they were similar in temperament and it was refreshing to talk to another person who was patient and understanding in that way.

He’s in the middle of replying to her when Dan chastises him for texting his friends instead of paying him attention. There sitting in Dan’s room and he’s complaining that he’s bored and Phil lets out a long sigh at it somehow being his responsibility to finding a solution for Dan’s problem. He thinks about what he feels like doing in that second and then he gets an idea.

“That scary movie we were talking about came out in theaters yesterday. Want to go see it?” He proposes and Dan’s face lights up.

“Yeah! Let’s go see that! I’ve been in the mood for watching something scary.” Dan says.

Phil thinks back to the last time they watched a scary movie and how Dan had a hard time going to sleep that night because he thought there was something in his house watching him.

“So you’re in the mood to shit your pants again?” Phil teases him. “Like the time you freaked out because of a bird-”

“Yeah, alright! Shut it, smartass. You didn’t have to bring that up and remind me of how much I’m scared of the dark.” Dan complains and Phil laughs.

They head downtown from Dan’s house.  It’s an early afternoon on a Sunday and the movie theatre is mostly empty so they are free to girly scream all they want without fear of judgement. They return home both left a bit shaken by the film. They go to Phil’s house and decide to watch a friendly anime which is more to their comfort level at that moment. In the evening, Phil suggests Dan should head home but he is reluctant to go. Around midnight Phil suggests again before Dan makes his parents upset for staying over late again but Dan ignores his warning. An hour after that, Dan’s phone begins to ring and he has a short conversation with his mom before hanging up.

“Ohhhh, someone’s in trouble with their mommy for breaking curfew!” Phil pokes fun at him just as Dan had teased him about it once before.

Dan stares at him thoughtfully. “Phil, is it ok if I stay over tonight?” Dan ask as pleasantly as he can and Phil laughs seeing right through him.

“You’re afraid of falling asleep all by yourself after seeing that movie, aren’t you?” Phil asks. “You know there isn’t actually anything supernatural that can hurt you, right?”

“That’s what they all say in the movies before it happens! Listen, either I go home and make you talk to me over the phone like last time because I can’t sleep or I stay here and we both get some sleep. Which one is it going to be, Phil?” Dan challenges him.

Phil tilts his head to one side as he looks at the other boy considerately. If Dan goes home he’ll only continue to text and call Phil like last time but he has a feeling that letting him stay over will just lead to Dan keeping him awake because he’ll want to stay up late talking or playing a game. Either way he imagines he’s not going to get much sleep but he much rather have his best friend by his side.

“Yeah, okay you can spend the night.” Phil tells him and Dan looks relieved. He calls his mom back to let her know and a second later he is eagerly finding something for them to do. He seems hyper awake while Phil is already feeling a bit sleepy but he agrees to play a board game anyways when Dan pulls one out.

The board game is long and Phil is blurry eyed by the near end of it. He goes from having clear vision to having trouble reading the small words on the game cards even when he switches out his contact lenses for his glasses. He becomes distracted by his surroundings because something about his bedroom this late at night seems a bit off. Then he becomes distracted by Dan’s features because Phil swears something about him looks different. Dan stares back at him amused at Phil’s squinting.

“You alright there, Phil?” He asks as he puts his game card under the stack.

“You changed something haven’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You look different.” Phil points out.

“Phil, it’s your turn. Or you going to go or not?” Dan says rolling his eyes.

“I got it!” Phil weakly shouts. “You need a haircut!”

Dan frowns at him and reaches to fix his hair even though he can’t see what it looks like.

“Or are you trying to grow it out?” Phil asks as he finally rows the dice.

“Why? Does it look bad?” Dan asks back.

“No, of course not! Just looks different.”

“Oh, okay.” Dan says with his hand still in his hair.

“Stop touching it! You look fine!” Phil says annoyed and reaches out to pull Dan’s hand away from it but kind of forgets to let go of Dan’s hand. The brown hair boy blushes but Phil is oblivious to why for a second until he realizes.

“Oh! Sorry!” He says letting go. Dan says nothing and rolls the dice that lands on a six and he moves his piece past the last three steps to victory.

“HA! I WON!” Dan yells as he throws his arms up in the air. Phil couldn’t care less. He closes his tired eyes and just let’s himself fall back onto the carpet feeling happy the game is over and that he can finally go to sleep now.

The light disappears as a shadow is cast over his face and Phil opens his eyes to see Dan hovering over him smiling.

“So do you want to play another game?” He asks sweetly.

“No!” Phil says closing his eyes back again.

“Fine.” Dan sits next to him looking down at Phil then starts to poke his side. “Are you going to get up any time soon?”

“Nope.”

“Alright,” Dan says getting up. Phil hears him shuffling around in his room.

“I just burrowed some of your pj’s. I’m going to bed now.” Dan tells him.

Phil picks his head up to see Dan climbing into bed. “Hey! You’re leaving me on the floor and just stealing my bed??” He complains.

“I didn’t force you to fall asleep on the floor.” Dan grumbles back.

Phil gets up off the carpet and claims his space on the bed before Dan thinks he’s welcomed to take up the whole thing for himself.

“You’re still wearing jeans.” Dan reminds him.

“Oh yeah.” Phil doesn’t feel like changing. “Oh well.” He says as he starts to tuck himself into his blankets.

“That doesn’t seem comfortable but alright whatever.” Dan mumbles turning his back to Phil.

Phil sighs knowing he’s not comfy sleeping in his skinny jeans so he gets out of bed. “Fine. Just don’t look.” Phil tells him and he hears Dan snort at that but keeps his back faced to him as Phil puts on some pajama bottoms. He turns off the room light and climbs back into his bed as they whisper good night to each other. Phil is quickly drifting off to sleep but he can feel Dan moving around a lot. Phil wonders if it’s because he can’t get comfortable or if he’s imagining scary things in the dark because of the movie. Then he feels a warmth cuddled close to his side.

“Really Dan?” Phil says amused but not caring enough to open his tired eyes.

Dan shushes him. “It’s only weird if you make it weird.” He mumbles.

Phil doesn’t say anything else in protest because it’s not like they haven’t cuddled a few times before during movies and at this point he doesn’t mind much of anything that Dan does. Phil relaxes into his comfortable position in the bed. He feels the weight of Dan’s head on the edge of his chest trapping one of his arms down so he drapes his free arm across his own chest to gently grasp onto Dan’s upper arm and that’s the way both boys finally drift off to sleep.

 

 

 

 **A/N:** I was worried that the chapter was sounding too rushed, so added more material and l got carried away, then my hard drive failed and I took forever to go get it fixed because I’ve been trying to save money but finally I’m back! It’s been a long time coming and I’m soooo sorry for the long wait! On the plus side, this chapter was getting really long so I broke it up into two chapters so a new one will be posted soon, I’m just editing the last paragraphs.

Is there anything about the story or my writing that you don’t like? I’d like some feedback to improve. I’m giving you permission to drag me. Or is there maybe any ideas you have of things you’d like to see happen in the story? I’m getting closer to finishing it and I know what I want to write but maybe your ideas can influence it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally called High School AU Phanfiction #249  
> i changed the title because it was making my eye twitch and i was cringing on the inside.

The sound of Phil's phone alarm wakes them up in the morning. Phil reaches out to grab for it which causes Dan to grip on tighter to Phil's chest that he was using as a pillow. Phil swipes the alarm off and lays there for a second enjoying the warmth of his best friend. He finally pulls away when he gets out of bed and Dan clutches onto an actual pillow instead. He tries to force Dan out of bed but the brown haired boy stays under the covers longer. So Phil leaves him there as he collects his things to get ready in the bathroom. When he returns back to the room he tries to awaken his sleepy friend to no avail that Phil literally has to drag Dan out of the bed and onto the floor.

"You've got twenty minutes to get ready before we take off to school." Phil tells him while looking down at the boy on the floor who is still trying to get his bearings. He mumbles something under his breath at him that Phil can't hear.

"If you're not ready by then I'm going to start walking without you. I'm not going to be late for school because of you, Dan." He warns him before he moves to randomly pick out some clean clothes for his friend who is still sitting on the floor. He turns around to see Dan pulling the covers off the bed and into his lap.

"What the heck are you doing?" Phil asks.

"Nothing." Dan says quietly not looking up at his friend. "Just hand me the clothes please." So Phil begrudgingly walks over to him to place them in his hands but Dan remains sitting on the floor.

"Daaan!" Phil whines. "Get up! Move!" He urges him feeling exasperated with the other boy. Dan slowly stands up while still holding onto the blankets.

"Hurry up!" Phil says about ready to start pushing him out the door himself.

"Can you look away?" Dan suddenly asks which takes Phil aback because it echoes what he asked Dan last night when he felt uncomfortable in front of him.

"Oh. Okay, sure." Phil says turning away to start packing his backpack while Dan exits to the bathroom.

When Phil is completely ready to go he sits back down on the bed to wait for Dan. Even when it passes the twenty minute mark he stays waiting for Dan who walks back into the room ready to go with neatly straightened hair and Phil thinks that's probably what took up the most time.

They rush to get to school and have just enough time to get a quick breakfast from the cafeteria and enter their class a minute before the bell rings. The teacher begins class quickly and announces a pop quiz. Phil gets out a sheet of paper and a pen from his backpack. He feels Dan tap his shoulder and he quickly remembers that Dan doesn't have his backpack with him today since he spent Sunday night over at Phil's house. So he passes his pen and paper over to Dan before he can even ask and Phil digs into his backpack again for another sheet of paper and pen for himself. After their first period class, Dan walks Phil to his next class.

"Shit. I just remembered its Monday." Phil groans and Dan smiles at his best friend's use of foul language that he enjoys to hear so much because he's one of the rare few who gets to hear it. "I forgot to take my gym clothes home with me last week." Phil remembers.

"Same." Dan relates before saying goodbye and heading to his own class.

Phil and Chris hardly get to talk during their class so they agree to catch up at lunch. After class ends Phil finds Dan waiting outside the locker rooms. He walks up to Phil as soon as he sees him.

"We're getting split up into groups today." Dan says immediately.

"Oh." Phil says, unsure how to react.

"We probably won't get placed into the same group or be partners." He remarks and Phil suddenly gets it.

"That sucks." He says realizing he won't get to spend his worst hour of the day with his best friend.

"Sorry, Phil. There isn't going to be anyone to take it easy on you today. You're actually going to have to try doing hard physical activity." Dan teases but Phil recognizes it as truth. "We should have just skipped." Dan says.

"Yeah, maybe." Phil agrees now feeling bitter about the situation.

"Oh?" Dan's eyes widen a bit in surprise. "You'd be okay with skipping class? Am I turning Phil Lester into a bad boy?" He questions. "The same goody two-shoes who feels guilty if he doesn't complete his homework and is too ashamed to ever be late for class?" Dan says which causes Phil to roll his eyes. "The same guy who's always like 'ohhh lets do the moral thing'? The guy who goes around apologizing to a tree for accidentally kicking it?" Dan mocks him further.

Phil is offended at Dan's attempt to drag him but is taken aback at that last comment. That's an old memory of his from middle school when Phil tried to retrieve a soccer ball but instead of kicking it over to his friends, he missed and accidentally kicked the tree it was sitting next to. So he stopped to formally apologize to it and rubbed its bark a bit in comfort when Dan caught him, and to Phil's embarrassment had stopped to ask, "Lester, are you talking to a fucking tree?"

"I can't believe you still remember that." He says. Dan shrugs about it and then moves to enter the locker room as Phil follows.

Dan continues to tease him about his past niceties which distracts Phil and he feels a little less insecure about getting dressed next to Dan this time around. As they are changing into their stale gym clothes, Dan playfully pokes at Phil's bare sides which makes Phil flinch and laugh. Then he retaliates causing Dan to dodge away from Phil trying to stab at his sides with his finger. Once they've changed into their week old gym clothes Dan leans over to whisper to Phil.

"Phil, do I smell bad?" He asks self-consciously. Phil takes a quick whiff of his shirt.

"No, but it doesn't matter. We're going to stink by the end of class anyways so it's fine." Phil answers as he secretly smells himself too wondering if his week old gym clothes don't smell too offensive.

They file out of the locker room with the rest of the guys and stand in one big group inside the gym waiting for the instructor to separate them into groups for a physical fitness test. He starts listing off names and assigning different activities and from there they are supposed to find a partner to rotate through the activities with. Phil is disappointed when Dan is not assigned into his group but instead Dan gets to join the group that the majority of his friends are in. After the instructor finishes reading names the students slowly start to break up into their groups. Dan turns to look at Phil but before he can speak they hear someone calling Phil's name walking up to them.

"Hey, Phil. Want to be partners for this thing?" A student named John asks him with a friendly smile. Phil had known John a while and they weren't particularly close but he was definitely one of the nicer people in their high school that Phil has met so he agrees.

"I guess I'll see you later?" Phil says turning back to Dan.

"Yeah, sure. See you later." Dan responds as he lightly bumps Phil's shoulder and walks away from them.

Phil walks with John out to the football field with the rest of their group. He momentarily catches a glimpse of something familiar on John's wrist.

"I love that show." Phil says pointing at his wristband of The Walking Dead. John looks down at it as if he suddenly remembers he's wearing it.

"You do?" He asks excitedly. "Did you see the new episode on Sunday night?"

Phil nods his head enthusiastically. "I watched it with Dan." He says.

A curious look crosses John' face. "So, is Dan cool?" He asks.

Phil smiles at the topic turning to Dan. "Yeah, he's great! He's really sarcastic and hilarious but he's really sweet. He's got great taste in music and we love the same shows. And he's…great." Phil ends his spiel a bit lamely hoping John wouldn't notice his embarrassment about fawning over his best friend or detect anything else under it all.

"Really?" John ask surprised. "I don't mean to be rude to your friend. I just thought Dan was a bit of bully but I guess I was wrong. He must be a decent person since you both seem to get along."

"I think he's more mature now. It makes him more bearable." Phil confesses and John laughs at that.

They arrive at the football field with the rest of their group. Dan's group has already started running timed laps around the field. He spots Dan and his partner running together.

"Want to go first and I mark your paper?" Phil asks and John approves.

They find an open space on the field and John starts to do as many pushups as he can as Phil counts and marks the total on his paper. Then John lays back on the grass to do the sit-ups next and Phil helps by holding down his feet. They switch places and Phil drops to the ground to attempt as many pushups as he can. He collapses face first into the grass after only doing four pushups. John lets out a surprised laugh. Then Phil gets on his back to attempt the sit-ups as John holds his feet down. He has a good momentum going at first but quickly loses energy and has trouble sitting up all the way but is still determined to keep on going. He ends up reaching out for John's shoulders in a desperate attempt to help himself sit up all the way which causes John to laugh and make his shoulders shake. He offers Phil encouragement to keep going.

He gets distracted by a yell coming from the students doing laps around the field. Then he hears someone yelling Dan's name. He catches a glimpse of him over John's shoulder. Dan is standing in the middle of the track staring out at the field more or less looking their way while his partner jokingly calls him a spaz for stopping as he passes Dan by on the track. Then he finally unfreezes from his spot and returns back to finish running.

Phil attempts to do at least as many sit-ups as John. When he's finished, John gives him a pat on the back and helps him up. Just as he is getting to his feet he feels someone harshly bump into him. He regains his balance and turns to see Dan standing beside him. Den places one arm on Phil's shoulder and leans on him casually.

"How's it going?" Dan asks as he looks between Phil and John.

"Fine."

"Okay."

They both answer and then Dan turns his head to Phil which brings their faces close together since Dan is still leaning on Phil's shoulder.

"Are you having fun? Surviving without me alright?" He pokes fun at his best friend.

Phil shifts his weight causing Dan to lose his balance. "Just fine, thanks." He says a bit sassily as Dan moves to catch himself before falling. John quietly watches the two boys' interaction with one another. In the distance, Dan's partner is calling his name to get him back to finish the fitness test.

"See ya later, Spork." Dan says, squeezing Phil's shoulder before he walks away. They watch Dan rejoin his partner as their group moves onto the next activity.

"So, you two are close?" John asks looking over at Phil. He catches John's curious expression again.

"He's my best friend." Phil explains feeling himself going a bit red.

"Right." John simply says. "Let's go do our running?" He suggests and Phil follows him to the track.

John's a pretty good runner and Phil has made the mistake of trying to keep up with him. He's gasping for air by the time they reach the end of the track.

"You did really well!" John congratulates him by slapping him on the back. Phil leans forward with his hands on his knees trying to keep himself upright

"Water." Phil whispers hoarsely and John laughs as he leads them to the water fountains. The last thing they have to do is take their height and weight measurements and so they get in line with the rest of their group. When's it's their turn to use the scale Phil goes first as John helps him take his measurements for his height.

"Stand with your feet all the way against the wall and look up." John tells him as he looks above Phil's head to measure him. "Stop moving!"

"Sorry! My legs are still wobbly after that run." Phil says causing John to laugh. He puts a hand on Phil's shoulder to steady him. Phil looks straight ahead and then see's Dan watching from across the track. He gives him a small smile. When John finishes writing down his height on the paper they trades places so Phil can record John's height.

"Dan is looking over here." John says staring straight ahead.

"Yeah, I saw him. He's waiting for me to finish." Phil says as he writes down John's height on the paper. They take their weight measurements next and then turn in their papers after finally finishing all the tasks.

"Um, Phil? Not that it's any of my business but I think you haven't noticed something about Dan." John begins to say.

"What do you mean?" Phil asks him. Just then he feels someone loop their arm around his and he realizes its Dan pulling him away impatiently.

"C'mon, Phil! Hurry up! I'm hungry and I want to go to lunch." He whines. Phil looks back to wave goodbye to John apologetically and he gives Phil a small wave back.

Dan doesn't let go of Phil's arm until they've reached the locker room and he is talking miles a minute about how he did on the fitness exam and the various thoughts he's had since then that he wanted to share. Phil begins to space out a bit during Dan's babble but he is refocused when he feels Dan poke at him to get his attention. When their finished and ready to leave for lunch Dan pulls him along by the wrist on the way to the cafeteria.

When they sit down at their usual table PJ looks down at Dan's clothes. "Nice shirt." He compliments which catches Chris's attention.

"Isn't that Phil's?" He asks.

"Yeah, I burrowed something to wear since I spent the night." Dan explains as he stares down at his bright colored top.

"You still haven't returned the other clothes I let you borrow the last time you stayed over." Phil reminds him and Dan rolls his eyes as he pushes his hair out of his face.

"Are you growing out your hair now?" PJ asks him and Dan starts messing with his hair some more which annoys Phil.

"You look fine, Dan." He assures him.

Dan meets his eyes with a small smile. "Thanks, Phil." He says sincerely.

"If you don't get it cut soon then you and Phil are going to start looking like twins." Chris observes their almost matching hair and PJ laughs. They change the conversation to what PJ has written for them to film on Saturday until the bell rings and they all take off to their classes.

During class, Phil notices that Dan is being particularly close today, even more than usual. He keeps his hand on Phil's shoulder as they walk the halls together. He takes Phil's arm and holds on to him for most of the class. Even on the walk home he stays in close contact by linking his arm around Phil's. He does it so casually in an innocent way that it makes Phil feel like he can't complain.

They arrive to Dan's house and Phil instantly suggests they get their homework out of the way with. Phil makes Dan do his homework as he works on his own essay. Dan grunts about it but does it anyways.

"I'm tired!" The brown haired boy complains after a while as he looks up from his textbook. Phil ignores him as he types away on his laptop. Dan hates when Phil ignores him. He pushes his book away and comes closer to Phil. He pushes Phil's arm up out of the way so he can move in to snuggle into his chest once again like he did the night before and then takes a calming deep breath. Phil just sits there with his macbook in his lap and Dan relaxing into him. He doesn't know what to say or do.

"Don't make it weird." Dan mumbles into him sensing his tension and Phil rolls his eyes. Finally he decides to just rub Dan's back comfortingly. He leans back a bit to make more room for the six-foot boy and reaches his arm over him to go back to typing and listens to Dan's quiet breathing for a while. At some point he suggest Dan finish his own work so he's not complaining about having to finish it later. Dan still refuses to move so Phil nudges him a bit until finally he decides to push him completely off. Dan sighs sadly but picks his textbook back up again as he should. A minute later he leans his back on Phil as he carries on reading.

Afterwards when they've both finished their work, as a reward for Dan doing his homework for once, Phil lets Dan choose what they do for the rest of the day. He picks a movie to watch while they sit on the sofa together. Dan tucks his feet up and buries himself into Phil's chest as soon the film begins. Phil sighs inwardly. What is a person to do when you're best friend and the boy you also happen to have a crush on likes to cuddle with you?

Before he can say anything about the cuddling, Dan speaks up. "It's only weird if you make it weird." He says for the second time and Phil decides to take advantage of it and just enjoy it. He slings one arm around his friend and says nothing. Although, the clingy behavior carries on into the week and whenever Phil does question it, Dan just uses that same excuse.

By Wednesday, Phil doesn't bother with homework and just lets Dan convince him into doing whatever he feels like doing that day. They sit together to watch an anime and Phil looks forward to Dan cuddling into him. He's ready to welcome him with open arms because he would take what he could get even if they weren't actually dating. Although the moment never comes which is almost a disappointment to Phil. Instead he senses Dan's hand finding his own. Phil looks down at their entwined fingers in surprise.

"Dan?" Phil asks curiously.

"Don't make it weird." He reminds him. His eyes never leave the screen but Phil can see the hint of pink on Dan's cheeks. Phil says nothing and leans back relaxing with his best friend's hand in his own. They don't talk about it which frustrates Phil a bit.

They don't talk about it the next day either but at school Dan has begun making jokingly flirty comments again like he did in the beginning which drives Phil crazy because he doesn't know what to think. Then after school they cuddle and Dan holds his hand again and Phil wants to burst into tears because he thinks this must all be platonic for Dan while he's quietly suffering on the inside because he wants it to mean more.

On Friday, they go over to Phil's house and he makes them do homework again because he needs something to focus on to distract himself from his thoughts. Even though Dan begs for them to finish it later since they have the whole weakened to do their homework, Phil puts his foot down about it.

He sits on the carpet with a book in his lap while Dan sits behind him on the bed with his own textbook open. Phil is honestly trying to get as much work done as possible but he's having a hard time because his mind keeps drifts to thoughts of a particular brown haired boy. A while later he hears Dan get up from the bed and comes over to kneel in front of him. Phil smiles at him as Dan gently pulls the book out of his lap. He moves in closer to wrap his arms around Phil's waist in a hug and leans his head on Phil's shoulder. When Phil returns the hug, Dan twists around a bit to snuggle into him and grasps on to Phil's hand to hold. They stay like that for a while until Dan pulls away to look at Phil's face.

"I feel like we should try doing something else now." He says.

"Alright." Phil agrees. "What do you have in mind?"

"I have one idea." Dan says biting on his lip and trying to hold back a smile. "I mean if you're thinking what I'm thinking?" He asks.

Phil doesn't know what he means but looks around the room for a clue. "We could play a video game?" He ends up suggesting and a look crosses over Dan's face and his smile falls for a second. "Is that what you had in mind?" Phil asks.

"Right, sure. Okay." He says and Phil lets go of him to set it up for them to play.

Their playful banter during the game quickly turns competitive. Phil ends up flopping a couple of times because of stupid mistakes while Dan wins as usual. Dan cheers at another victory while Phil whines that he was so close to winning this time.

Dan suddenly turns to look at Phil with a contemplative look on his face. "Want to try something new?" He asks while they are waiting for another level to load.

Phil shrugs his shoulders uncaringly. "Sure," He says, amenable to whatever Dan has in mind.

"Do you want to mess around?" Dan asks, eagerly scooting closer to him.

"What are you talking about?" Phil says confused.

"Do you want to try kissing?" Dan asks him with a playful smile and Phil is taken aback by the question.

"What?" He asks feeling even more confused as he scoots back in shock but also needing some space away from him to be able to think clearly.

"Please, Phil?" Dan whines with pleading eyes.

His best friend, who Phil thought was straight, was asking to kiss him. It was almost like a dream come true but also too good to be true. "And you don't think that's at all weird because we're both guys?" Phil stares back at him disbelievingly thinking this must be a joke.

"No!" Dan is quick to reassure him. "Look if you don't feel comfortable because of us being guys, then it doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to. We could just kiss for fun? Kissing is just supposed to feel nice, so it shouldn't matter who you decide to kiss with. Just think of it as good practice!" Dan tries harder to convince him.

"No," Phil says definitely. "If it doesn't matter who you mess around with, then why don't you try asking someone else?" Phil tells him feeling hurt that he finally might get to kiss the boy he likes but it's ruined by the fact that it wouldn't mean anything to Dan like it does to Phil.

"I would rather kiss you." Dan explains with complete sincerity as he tries moving closer again. "It's only you who I really want to kiss." He says and Phil's eyes go wide in realization because he can see the seriousness in Dan's eyes. "Don't you get it you spoon?" His voice sounds frustrated and emotional. "I like you. I like you a lot, Phil. I like you so much that I just wanted you to look at me the same way and like me back."

Phil's heart soars at what Dan is telling him and he sits there for a second in quiet amazement while Dan turns apprehensive at the silence. His gaze falls to floor feeling mortified. "But I guess you don't feel the same way and I just screwed up everything, didn't I? I'm so sorry, Phil."

"I like you a lot too, Dan!" Phil blurts out quickly to comfort him and save him from feeling hurt. Dan's eyes flash back up to his in surprise. Phil scoots towards him feeling giddy and overwhelmed with emotion. "I think you're so fucking cute that I can't stand it and you've been driving me crazy all this time." Phil says. A radiant smile takes over Dan's face, the same smile that has left Phil breathless before and it makes him really want to kiss Dan.

Phil leans forward as close to Dan's face as he dares. Dan's looks down to Phil's lips. He tilts his head slightly and closes in the rest of the way. Both their eyes fall close and Phil is startled to finally feel Dan's lips gently touching his own. He can feel Dan's smooth skin against his own where their faces brush. He instantly feels warmth radiating from him. Phil briefly opens his eyes to see Dan up close like this and then closes them to just get lost in the sensation. Dan presses in some more and Phil realizes kissing does feel nice like Dan said. Phil can't believe this is happening. That this gorgeous and amazing person actually wants to kiss him. He thinks it's incredible that in this big world filled with so many people he had the good luck of meeting this one glorious human being and he's astonished that Dan's love belongs to him.

Phil is the first to pull away. "So you were actually flirting with me, right?" He feels the need to ask because he's still blown away by it all.

Dan rolls his eyes. "I have been for a while, but thanks for noticing." He says and moves to kiss him again but Phil keeps talking.

"I thought you were joking! All this time you were actually serious?" Phil says incredulously.

"Really, Phil? Is that really what you're concerned about right now?"

"Yes! Now tell me it again!"

"Tell you what?"

"How much you like me." Phil says half teasing him.

"What you want me to praise you?" Dan tries to tease back as he fidgets in place.

"Yes!" Phil says.

"That's embarrassing!" He squeaks and Phil laughs.

"Tell me!" Phil urges as he begins to poke at Dan's shoulder. "How long have you liked me?" He decides to ask and Dan's face blushes scarlet. He avoids looking at Phil by picking up the controller and goes back to playing the game. Phil decides not to push it and resumes as well.

In between pauses, Dan leans over to give Phil quick pecks on the lips again and again just because he can now. Phil finally starts to loosen up a bit and the next time Dan gives him a quick kiss, Phil actually kisses him back. Dan drops the controller to put his hands on Phil's face as he deepens the kiss. Phil grips on to Dan's upper arms almost tugging at him to feel closer. They both pull apart to catch a breath.

"I should probably head home." Dan realizes.

"Or you could just stay here? I mean if you want to." Phil is quick to suggest but wonders if it sounded a bit needy.

"Trying to get me into your bed, Lester?" Dan smirks.

"Well, yeah. Kinda." Phil admits and Dan laughs.

"Okay," Dan replies. They get settled for the night then climb into bed together and surprisingly it's not awkward at all. They kiss lazily for a while and then spend a lot more time talking and laughing as they've always done till early in the morning when they finally drift off to sleep.

 

A/N:

\- welp there ya go i hope you liked this cheesy chapter

\- there will be another chapter coming your way at some point…

\- I imagine there is only one or maybe two more chapters left to go

\- I regret not writing from Dan's pov but there will be a few paragraphs of that in the last one

\- thank you so much for the 200 kudos!

\- I appreciate everyone who has read it!

\- have a nice holiday season:)


	10. Chapter 10

Phil is the first to wake up the next morning. It takes him a second to remember yesterday before rolling over to see Dan sleeping beside him. He takes a moment to stare at the other boy, mesmerized by his peaceful face, before ruining it by harshly poking at Dan’s face and startling him awake.

"Gah," is all Dan manages to say disoriented. His blinking bleary eyes focus on Phil. He slowly lifts himself up to place a kiss on Phil's cheek then lets himself fall back in bed with a pleased smile at Phil’s blush. 

“Want to make pancakes?” Phil asks excitedly. 

"Mm, that requires getting out of bed so no.” Dan mumbles.

“Please?” Phil whines and Dan can’t resist the softness of his eyes so he agrees. He rolls out of bed and follows his best friend and now boyfriend downstairs. The house is quiet as Phil's parents have already left so they're free to make a mess in the kitchen. 

Phil is in wonder at how domestic this feels to wake up with Dan and cook breakfast with him. It'd be great to have his best friend at his side like this always and not just Saturday mornings. His mind starts to paint pictures of a future where maybe they could wake up like this every day.

"You know, I had a dream like this once." He tells Phil just as they sit down to eat.

"That we were eating pancakes?" Phil asks confused.

"No, I mean I had a dream one time that we were roommates and so we always ate meals together."

Phil stares at him bewildered that Dan's words weren't too far from what he was just thinking. 

"I can imagine that perfectly." Phil agrees. “I wish I could wake up with you every morning." Causing Dan to blush this time.

They spend their day together exploring the new romantic side of their relationship. They're both over joyed but their mood sobers when it's almost time for PJ and Chris to come over. Phil realizes they haven't seriously talked yet about what they’ll tell other people about their relationship.

"Dan, can we not tell them about this?" He takes a moment to ask before their friends arrive. He feels nervous admitting that he doesn't want anyone to know yet. He's afraid Dan is going to take it the wrong way and be offended. He's relieved when Dan isn't mad but instead takes Phil’s hand in his. With a small smile he nods his head. When the doorbell rings they let go of each other to answer it.

Their Saturday passes by as it normally would. They've managed not to give anything away and neither of their friends notice if they shared knowing looks between themselves. After they've left, Dan reattaches himself to Phil's side again. Phil leads him upstairs to his room with thoughts of now having a proper talk. Dan obviously had other things in mind. When they enter the room, Dan automatically wraps his arms around Phil's neck and begins to kiss him. Phil lets him indulge for a few seconds before he pushes him away.

"We should talk." Phil tries to sound as serious as possible. It’s hard for him to start a conversation like this because he’s not use to talking about feelings.

Dan smiles slyly. "Sure. You talk and I'll listen." He says as he pushes Phil's arms down to get closer and attaches his lips to Phil’s neck.

"Dan," Phil whines. "You're not listening to me!" He pulls away from him.

"I am listening!" Dan assures. "But I'm also multitasking." He winks.

Phil sighs and rolls his eyes in annoyance and Dan frowns. "I swear I am listening to you now, Phil. Go ahead." He says and immediately walks over to Phil's closet to look for something to do as they talk. Phil sits on the bed as he watches him start to reorganize his clothes by color and patterns.

"I don't want anyone to know we're together yet. Especially not my parents." Phil begins. 

"I understand that." Dan says. "I promise to keep it a secret if it makes you happy."

"And you're not bothered at all about having to hide it?"

"As long I get to call you my boyfriend, I don't care." Dan says as he rearranges hangers with clothes in a proper order that makes sense only in his own head.

"Would you be comfortable with people knowing then?"

Dan seems to pause to think about it. "Once upon a time I would have cared, but I think I'm a lot braver now and care less what other people think. But you're probably right about hiding it for now. People are still homophobic and I rather not attract their attention and make our lives harder than they have to be."

"What about your parents? Are they homophobic?"

"No, I don't think they would be. Would your parents be upset if you told them you were dating a guy?"

"I don't know. Probably." Phil admits.

"Your parents adore you. I bet they'd be accepting. So is hiding sexuality from our parents all you wanted to talk about? Is there anything else- "

"I'm not gay." Phil blurted out.

Dan turns around to look at him with one arched brow. "Where are you going with this?"

"Or I guess I am now? But I wasn't before. How did you know you were gay?" Phil asks feeling a bit of relief to be able talk to another person about this.

Dan looks upwards as if thinking about it. "I'm bi." He concludes.

"Oh. I think I could be bi since I've had feeling for girls before." Phil says and Dan stills for a second.

"Anybody I know?" He asks next and Phil laughs.

"Don't worry, Dan. Nobody can hold my attention as much as you. So, how did you know you were bi?"

"I've always been attracted to both."

"Okay, but how did you know when you liked boys too?"

"There was this boy," Dan hesitates a bit to explain. "He always drew my attention and I thought about him a lot until I realized I must’ve really liked him."

"Oh? Anybody I should know about?" Phil thinks back to their guy classmates to see if he can figure out who Dan could've had a crush on.

Dan smirks at him. "Don't worry, Phil. Nobody can compare to you."

Phil feels flattered at that. "So how did you know you also liked guys?" Dan asks him.

"Mostly you." Phil admits. "You came along and I started questioning things because I had feelings for you."

Dan stops what he is doing completely to stare at him. Phil thought he would be flattered but instead he asks, "Are you sure you like me?"

"Of course I like you, Dan." He's surprised Dan has to ask. "I'm not suddenly going to change my mind about you."

"Alright," Dan says shrugging. "Just let me know if you do get tired of me."

"Promise I won't." He says as Dan walks across the room deciding to reorganize the bookshelf next. Dan seems to have forgotten all about him as he is immersed in orderly rearranging his things. Phil remains seated on the bed watching him and waiting patiently for him to finish knowing he won't be done with that anytime soon. Once Dan is finished stacking the board games until they fit together perfectly like Tetris blocks into the last shelf, he peeks over to see what Phil is doing. He smiles when he sees Phil staring back at him.

He rises from his kneeling position on the floor and climbs onto the bed and connects their lips. Dan leans forward a bit too enthusiastically and Phil falls back with Dan's weight on top of him. Phil wraps his arms around him securely while Dan kisses him with eagerness now that Phil is finally letting him get his way. After a moment Phil pulls away to breathe as Dan continues kissing him down to his jaw and neck. Phil is loving having his attention on his neck but he knows they are getting worked up and it's not a good idea.

"We should probably head downstairs now." Phil says as he sits up but Dan pushes him back on the bed by his shoulders.

"No! Let’s just stay here." He says as he settles on top of Phil and leans his head back down to kiss him. Phil feels him run a hand down his chest and then slip it underneath his shirt to touch his skin. Phil shutters and grips on to him tighter. Then Dan takes the bottom hem of Phil’s shirt to pull it up and moves his mouth down to his chest. Phil can feel himself blushing and he is suddenly super self-aware.

"Dan," Phil says uncomfortably. "This is embarrassing."

"What if we turn the lights off? Would that help?" He whispers into Phil's skin.

"No! Don't do that! Then that's like trying to make it more romantic or something!"

Dan pulls his shirt back down. "I'm sorry. I'll slow down."

"It's getting late. You should probably go home." Phil says pulling away from him completely which alerts Dan.

"I can behave." He appeases.

"We can hang out tomorrow." Phil reminds him.

"Can I spend the night?" Dan asks.

"No," Phil answers decidedly. Dan looks offended at such a quick answer.

Phil kisses him on the cheek to amend any hurt feelings. "I'll see you tomorrow." He assures but Dan still looks as if he's being told he is unwanted.  
Dan slowly gets up from the bed and walks to the door. He looks over at Phil before opening the door and then Phil decides to walk him down. Downstairs at the door Dan asks if he's made Phil upset. Phil tells him he hasn't and holds his face in both hands to kiss him goodbye. 

After he's left, Phil returns to his room and plants himself face first into bed. He instantly feels regretful and wishes he could have handled that better but instead he's probably hurt Dan who can be overly sensitive. He was thoroughly enjoying everything Dan was doing until he panicked. He let his insecurities take over and he should have just explained to Dan why he was uncomfortable rather than just pushing him away and kicking him out and probably letting him feel like he did something wrong. 

Phil hears his parents arrive home and he's suddenly reminded of how he’s going to be hiding his feelings from them and his friends for now on and it overwhelms him. He turns his light off to signal to his parents that he's gone to sleep already and pulls the covers over all the way to the top of his head wishing he could hide from his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Its been almost a year and a have a bunch of excuses and I'm sorry for leaving you hanging this way. Thank you to everyone who left comments and kudos because its the only reason I got any motivation to continue.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!!
> 
> ¡Feliz Navidad!

Sunday morning he wakes up in a different mood. He's still feels crappy from sending Dan home the night before but he is optimistic about today. He reminds himself how lucky he is that Dan likes him back and his family and friends would get over it eventually. So everything can't be that bad. He gets out of bed to shower and have breakfast with his parents. Afterwards, he stays in his room reading for the rest of the morning. In the afternoon, he hears someone knock on his door and gives them permission to enter.

The door cracks open and Dan hesitantly peeks his head around it. "Your parents let me in." He explains.

"Yeah, it’s a bad habit of theirs." He lamely jokes and Dan ignores it. He walks in all the way and leans against the closed door.

Phil glances down at his basic black tee and dark jeans with hair neatly straightened. He subtly ogles Dan's long legs. "You look good today." He says but Dan stays quiet. Phil waits a while for him to respond.

"I'm sorry." He finally says and Phil knows he's talking about yesterday.

"Don't be, Dan. You didn't do anything. I was overthinking and I panicked. I'm sorry for letting you think it was somehow your fault."

"It was because I was being pushy, Phil. I should've-"

"I like that you're pushy. I was liking everything you were doing." He admits.

Dan sits next to him on the bed. "How about for now on I let you set the pace?" He suggest, reaching for Phil's hand and bringing it to his chest. "You lead and I follow. That way I know you're comfortable."

"How will I know if you feel comfortable?" Phil asks.

"I'd be up for anything you're willing to give." Dan says looking bashful after the words are out there.

"But you'd tell me right? If I did something you didn't like?"

"Of course."

Phil leans over to kiss him excitedly. He's eager to prove how okay he is with all of this and that he doesn't regret anything. This time he's the one who pushes Dan back down onto the bed and starts placing kisses along that elegant neck of his till he slows down and focuses on just one spot. He sucks right above his collar bone making Dan gasp.

"Stop." Dan says out loud surprising Phil as he pulls away from underneath him. "We should probably stop right there before I get too excited. I mean this probably isn't-"

"Right," Phil says remembering his parents are right downstairs. "What should we do then?"

"I don't know. What do you feel like doing?"

Phil thinks for a second. "There was this new documentary about black holes that just came out. We could watch that?" Phil suggests and Dan glares at him.

"You are such a nerd.”

"What?" Phil defends himself. "I like learning about black holes." Dan rolls his eyes as Phil continues. "Apparently some black holes shoot out these bright beams of energy called quasars and no one knows why." Phil goes on and Dan raises his eyebrows in intrigue.

"Actually, that sounds really interesting. Let's watch that."

They get settled to watch the film but they end up paying more attention to one another than the actual show. Turns out learning about the secrets of black holes isn't nearly as interesting as what they can learn from each other's lips. Dan's cradles Phil's face in his hands as Phil gently caresses his back. By the time the documentary is over they are very relaxed and content in each other's arms.

Phil is immensely happy. He wants this all the time. As the night grows late he becomes sadder that they'll have to break their embrace when Dan goes home. When the time comes for Dan to head home, Phil asks him to stay over, secretly hoping they can cuddle for the rest of the night amongst other things. Dan seems to consider saying yes but ultimately chooses to go home. Phil is disappointed and a bit concerned Dan still has hurt feelings from yesterday. Dan erases that worry when he kiss Phil sweetly before heading downstairs to leave.

It's Monday morning and Phil wonders what their first day at school as a couple will be like. It makes him nervous. They had already agreed they wouldn't tell anyone about their relationship but would people figure it out anyways? What would they do if someone called them out on it? Should they deny it or just admit to it when it happens? Phil's mind spirals into worry as he counts a dozen different ways they could accidently give themselves away and how quick the story would get back to his parents in such a small community.

His stomach was in knots by the time he sits down in class. He looks around as he ponders some of his classmates. Most he knew since elementary and he knew which were kind and who the douche bags were. He started imagining them into two different sides. Those who would be quick to call him names if they knew he was gay and those who wouldn't give a fuck. He's never in his life felt so paranoid about the people around him.

Once upon a time Dan had been one of those douche bags but he had somehow turned into the best person in his life. Perhaps not everyone is as awful as they seem. Phil shook that naïve thought away quickly. Sadly, there would always be people ready to knock him down and it wasn't smart to think otherwise. Dan was a different story but Phil was pretty sure anyone else who seemed like an asshole most likely truly was one.

While he stared at his classmates he accidently caught someone's eye. Phil quickly looked down at his notebook. He only lifts his head again when he hears the door open. Dan enters the room looking a bit winded like he had been in a rush to get there on time as per usual. He looks over to where Phil was sat as soon as he came in. He smirks seeing Phil staring at him. As he approached his desk he boldly gave Phil one of those flirty up and down looks causing Phil to blush and seriously hope no one noticed. Phil doesn't say anything to acknowledge him.

Dan doesn't bother him at all during the lecture. The teacher finally stops to give the class their assignment for the day to work on. She list different topics they’ve covered recently and instructs them to write a page on what they’ve learned about that topic. As soon as they have some free time to talk, Phil turns around in his seat to look at Dan. “What are you doing?” He asks. He looks down at Dan’s blank paper then back up at him. He has a daydream look in his eyes as he stares at Phil. He suddenly realizes Dan’s been a bit distracted and smirks knowing he was the cause. Their eyes meet and they’re both smiling almost able to read into what the other is thinking.

“What are you going to write about?” Phil decides to break the moment.

“Quasars.” Dan says and Phil is pleased something stuck with him from the documentary they watched. “What about you?”

“Binary star systems.”

 Dan raises an eyebrow. “What’s that again?”

“It’s when there is two stars revolving around each other in a solar system instead of just one.”

“Oh.”

“Most of the stars we see in the sky are binary stars or part of multiple star systems.”

Dan tilts his head to lean on one arm. “I love it when you talk nerdy to me.”

Phil freezes. “Shut up right now.”

They can’t stop smiling at each other.

“So,” Phil starts. “What do you want to do today after school?” He asks assuming they will hang out as they always do.

“Anything you want.” He winks and Phil blushes turning back around in his seat. He wonders if Dan will ever fail to make him blush when he flirts.

After class lets out, Dan walks him to his next class. There is a bit more space between them than usual. Usually Dan finds ways to get into Phil’s personal space. Phil wonders if he’s feeling hesitant because he asked Dan to keep their new relationship a secret and he’s worried others will pick up on something if they act too touchy. As much as Phil is worried about the same thing, he doesn’t think many people actually pay attention to them.

When they stop just outside of the door, Phil turns towards Dan. He places a hand on Dan’s face and with his thumb he gently strokes above his cheek just under his eye and then pulls away after feeling Dan startle at the touch.

“What was that?” He asks surprised.

“You had an eyelash on your face.”

“Oh.”

Phil tilt’s his head to one side noticing something.

“You’re awfully quiet today.” He points out. Usually Dan is talking his ear off.

Dan shrugs and says nothing. He glances up at Phil’s hair then quickly runs his hand through it.

“What was that for?” Phil asks.

“Um, you had something in your hair.”

Phil smirks. “That’s sounds like a real flimsy excuse just to touch me, Howell.”

Dan’s ears tinge pink. He says a hasty goodbye and takes off to class which makes Phil laugh at his lack of a comeback today.

Phil is mostly quiet during his second class with Chris. His mind is too occupied with thoughts of Dan and their new situation to be able to keep up a conversation. Chris does most of the talking and Phil half listens.

During gym, they’re forced to exercise and have to jog around the track for almost an hour which was torture. In the locker room they are almost avoidant of any proximity. Except for when they are the last few left in the room and Dan does the thing where he leans into his personal space. It’s inviting and Phil is tempted to do something stupid. Dan senses this and smiles at him daringly.

“Kiss me,” He whispers.

Phil stares at him like he has lost his mind and backs away a little. “No, there are people.”

Dan quickly glances around them. “Hardly anyone here. No one’s watching.” Then he comes impossibly close towards his face and Phil looks down at his lips. Just then they hear the door open as someone enters and Phil quickly reacts by shoving Dan back by the shoulders sending the brown haired boy tumbling backwards onto the floor. He lands on his ass with an oath escaping his mouth. Phil covers his mouth with his hands and eyes going wide in shock at what he’d just done.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” John asks as he appears from around the corner and seeing Dan on the floor.

“Fine,” He grumbles as Phil is helping pull him up off the floor. Dan rubs his back side and keeps his gaze downwards looking slightly angry.

“I’m sorry,” Phil whispers to him but Dan stays quiet.

Phil turns to John who is glancing back and forth between the two. His gaze finally settles on Phil and smiles at him. He nods his head at him in a kind of greeting before he passes them by to his locker. Phil is almost positive that John has them figured out. Phil grabs both their backpacks then grabs Dan’s hand when John has his back to them. He rushes out of their yanking Dan along behind him.

At lunch they don’t talk which causes PJ and Chris to stare at them suspiciously. After a few minutes of no one saying anything at the lunch table, Chris speaks up.

"Are you two fighting?"

"No," Dan and Phil say at the same time. Chris and PJ look at each other confused.

"Alright," Chris continues. "Then what's the matter with the both of you?" He questions them.

Phil shrugs. "What's the matter with your face?" Dan quickly fires back instead. PJ and Phil laugh as Chris just glares at him. Their friends stop questioning their behavior today and talk amongst themselves.

Dan is bouncing his leg up and down under the table causing it to lightly bump into the side of Phil's leg. Phil reaches for his hand under the table and intertwines them for a little while. He glances over at Dan to make sure this is alright. Dan is strangely smiling down at his food so Phil figures he’s more than alright with it.

During the rest of the day they share secret looks throughout their classes with knowing smiles. Phil can’t wait for the school day to end.

They brush hands often as they walk home. When they finally get upstairs to Dan's room, Phil is barely dropping his backpack down when he feels Dan pulling him in closer and kisses Phil deeply.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," he says after he's pulled away. He tenderly rubs his hands up and down Phil’s arms as if he's reminding himself Phil is really there in front of him. Phil responds by placing his arms around Dan's waist to pull him in again and kisses him. ‘I’m happy I’m here with you too’ he is trying to say. Phil pushes him back all the way to the bed before they lose themselves in each other’s kisses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 **A/N:** I know a long time ago I said there would be only a couple of chapters left but I’ve been breaking them into shorter chapters that I can actually manage to finish so I can update more frequently. So now I’m not even sure how many chapters I will drag this out into.  I rushed to finish writing and editing this chapter in time for Christmas so sorry if its extra incoherent. Again I’m sorry I’ve went so long without updating. Thanks to everyone who is enjoying it still!  Also…

THE FRICKING FACE HOLDING IN THE BLOOPERS LIKE WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT

But anyways…

Happy Holidays! I hope you all have an amazing 2018 that treats you well and just in case it doesn’t then I wish you all the strength in the world to get through any of the hard parts and I hope you all enjoy any new excitements it will bring and that you will create new happy memories with your friends and families. I wish you and your loved ones good health and happiness. Please take care of yourselves and see yall next year! God bless.


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